The wife and mother-in-law of a man accused of raping his 15-year-old granddaughter have testified in his defence.

The accused of Zibokwane village near the Swaziland and Mozambican border, appeared in the Tonga Regional Court on Thursday afternoon.

He cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the girl.

The man was arrested on January 23, 2012 after being accused of raping the girl in 2011, a Sapa correspondent reported.

He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape.

His wife told the court that the girl had never been normal since her parents died some years ago.

"This child is just fabricating stories to put my husband in jail. The only thing I know is that she didn't want to stay with us; she wanted to go and stay with her siblings who don't want to live with her because they believe she's lazy," said Mokoena.

The accused's mother-in-law, 75, from Magogeni Trust, south of Malalane, said her son-in-law was a good person.

Magistrate Edgar Moletsane postponed the case to May 27 for further trial.