There was silence in court when an elderly man narrated how his 23-year-old grandson allegedly raped his 38-year-old biological mother.
The name of the accused and that of the complainant are known to this publication but will be withheld due to ethical reasons.
The accused appeared yesterday before Manzini Principal Magistrate Florence Msibi, charged with contravening Section 3 of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15/2018. He allegedly committed the offence on April 30, 2025.
While leading evidence, the soft-spoken elderly man told the court that on the day the offence occurred, it was around 10pm when he and his wife were preparing to go to bed when they heard a strange noise emanating from the family yard.
He told the court that his wife went out to verify the source of the sound and her attempts were futile as she later returned to the house without gathering same.
He said given that the sound kept on persisting, armed with an axe, he went out to determine what was happening and came across his daughter, who was weeping uncontrollable, claiming to have been raped by her son inside her house.
He said after hearing the news, he reported the matter to his wife and thereafter, they went to the complainant’s house, where they found the accused seated. He said they probed him on the matter and he denied committing the act but instead claimed that he had gone to his mother’s house to ensure that her boyfriends do not enter the house.
During cross examination, the accused alleged that his mother was promiscuous and that on the day in question, he found his mother with a man from the area known to be married in a bar.
He alleged that his only sin was to prevent his mother from leaving with the man in question after the bar had been closed, further accusing her of fabricating the rape charges just to get back at him.
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Meanwhile, the survivor told the court that last year prior to this incident, the accused was a very good child but changed when he started high school.
“He refused to go to school and started smoking.
“I reported him to social workers and he was taken to Vulamasango, where he went as far as Form II,” she said.
She further stated in court that on the day of the incident, she was enjoying alcoholic beverages at a local bar when the accused, accompanied by his friend, also came into the same bar and bought alcohol.
“Thereafter, he left with his friend. After some time, I went home and the accused, together with his friend came out of nowhere and followed me,” she said.
She alleged that after the duo had caught up with her, the accused insulted her and told her to go home since it looked like she wanted to wait for her lovers to come and fetch her.
The survivor claimed that she heeded to the accused’s instruction and walked home but said when they reached a certain bridge at Ngwempisi River, accused began kicking her and when his friend asked him why he was acting in such way, he threatened him with violence as well.
According to the survivor, soon after being subjected to such harsh treatment, the accused’s friend got angry and left.
She told the court that the accused allegedly continued to assault her and she fought back.
“However, he overpowered me and proceeded to sexually assault me,” she alleged.
She alleged that she then deceitfully convinced the accused that they should go home instead of being intimate in the open as people would see them and he agreed.
The survivor alleged she said that because she knew that once they reached home, her parents would come to her rescue.
However, she said upon reaching home, the accused allegedly dragged her once again and continued to rape her after she fell.
“I never agreed to this act and a normal person cannot have sex with his mother. It is an abomination. After this incident, I lost my dignity in the community and even attempted suicide,” she said.
The matter was postponed to April 15 pending continuation of trial.
