A 46-year-old man was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison for raping his four-year-old daughter. He pleaded innocent to the charges but the court found him guilty based on available evidence.
A 46-year-old man was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison for raping his four-year-old daughter. He pleaded innocent to the charges but the court found him guilty based on available evidence.
Xola Makhenke Makayi had been arrested for a similar crime in 2007 but was released due to lack of evidence. He has been in custody since the day he committed the crime in Daliwe Township, Cathcart District on 5 September 2009. His sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime.
Witnesses for the prosecution included the victim’s mother, sister, a forensic nurse and the investigating officer. There were no witnesses for the defendant.
Perhaps the most damning evidence for the case was the victim’s demonstration of what her father did to her using dolls provided by the court.
She took the pants off the male doll, took the panties off the female doll, put the male doll on top of the female doll and shook its hips.
“For the record, the victim is shaking the hips of the male doll to imitate sexual intercourse,” said the presiding judge, Sytze Alkema.
The girl’s mother testified that the father picked up the child from her home on the day in question and she came back crying of pain in her genital area.
Police were called in and the accused was arrested. The following day the girl was taken for medical examination at the Ethembeni Crisis Centre in Queenstown, where the rape was confirmed.
The forensic nurse gave evidence that there were signs of trauma in the genitalia and anus of the victim in a form of tears and abrasions.
But forensic test results indicated that there was no semen found on the girl, and the DNA test results were negative.
The victim’s 14-year-old sister testified that she loved her father and that he was good to them. The mother also testified that the accused was a good father who was supportive and loved his children. They both said the girl told them it was Makayi who raped her.
