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Men watched as woman was raped

camera shy: Sonwabo Ngcete, Khuselo Manta, Siyamthanda Ndiza and Siyabongo Mhlangu yesterday appear in the Port Elizabeth High Court. The four men are charged with robbery while Ngcete and Manta are charged with committing acts of sexual penetration PHOTO: Brian Witbooi
camera shy: Sonwabo Ngcete, Khuselo Manta, Siyamthanda Ndiza and Siyabongo Mhlangu yesterday appear in the Port Elizabeth High Court. The four men are charged with robbery while Ngcete and Manta are charged with committing acts of sexual penetration PHOTO: Brian Witbooi

A KWAZAKHELE man described how he witnessed two men allegedly raping a lesbian to "teach her a lesson", in the Port Elizabeth High Court yesterday.

Thabizolo Nodada was the first witness testifying at the trial of Sonwabo Ngcete, 20, Khuselo Manta, 22, Siyamthanda Ndiza, 21, and Siyabongo Mhlangu, 21, all of Kwazakhele, Port Elizabeth.

The four men are charged with robbery while Ngcete and Manta are charged with committing acts of sexual penetration with the complainant. Ndiza and Mhlangu have been charged with conspiring to commit acts of sexual penetration. All four have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Nodada told the court he had been walking home from a tavern in the company of the four men in the early hours of January 29 2012 when the complainant - who is known to be a lesbian - approached them near Nosidima Street in Kwazakhele.

He said Ngcete saw the woman approaching and allegedly said, "Here is a child that acts like a boy but I am going to show her that she is a woman", before raping her.

Nodada said he had been drinking at a tavern earlier and was walking home with another friend, around 1.30am.

He said, as they were walking home, they saw the four accused who were "known criminals" and the two men decided to walk with them for protection.

"We were walking next to them but two paces away from them. They were having their own conversation and Ludwe and I were having our own," Nodada said.

He said they were still a distance from their homes when the woman approached them. He said she was about 8m away when the four men chased the woman and grabbed her.

Nodada said Ngcete and Manta pushed each other, after undressing her, and it appeared that they were fighting about who would rape the woman first as they were both trying to undress themselves.

He said they watched as Ngcete raped the woman for about 15 minutes before Manta then raped her for approximately seven minutes.

He said a woman from a nearby house then shouted at them and the four accused fled the scene, leaving the complainant on the ground.

He and Ludwe helped the woman before leaving the scene as well.

Defence advocate Richard Crompton asked Nodada why they did not leave the scene before the rape started.

"I elected to protect myself. We had been walking with these guys all the way and they did not try to rob us. If we left there, I do not [whether] others would try to rob us or even stab us. Three of these guys are from my area so we decided to wait so that we could walk with them," Nodada said.

But Crompton asked: "So you just stood there and watched?"

"We were not only watching but [we were] standing and conversing about how we were going to get home and what these guys [were] busy with at the moment," he said.

But Eric Skepe, appearing for Ngcete, put it to Nodada that he could have made a mistake about the identity of the four attackers, as it was dark during the incident.

"I am not making a mistake. Three of them live in my area and I could see them. The other one I have known for about a year," he said.

The trial continues today.

 

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