The case of the soldier charged with raping a 70-year-old woman at Siyahlala informal settlement in Philippi has been postponed for bail application.
Khayalethu Mkhumathela, 50, who is a member of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) was beaten up by angry community members on Sunday after he was accused of attacking the elderly woman.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Mkhumathela appeared at the Wynberg Magistrates' Court yesterday on a charge of rape.
He said the case has been postponed to 7 July for bail application and that “the state will oppose the bail application”.
SANDF spokesperson Colonel Louis Kirstein confirmed that the suspect is a reserve force member at General Jan Smuts reserve force unit in Goodwood.
He said the SANDF does not have the jurisdiction to prosecute rape cases committed within the Republic of South Africa.
“If a regular force member is accused of rape he or she may be suspended from the SANDF pending the outcome of his or her trial,” the colonel explains.
“If a member on call is accused of rape, his or her call up will be terminated until the investigation is concluded, and if found guilty the member will not be called up again to serve in the SANDF.”
During the suspect’s first appearance on Tuesday, State Prosecutor Phumeza Mtuyedwa-Zondi told the court that Mkhumathela shared the same clan name as the victim’s husband and that they were drinking when the alleged rape happened.
“The accused pushed the victim into her bedroom and that is where he took off her panties and raped her,” she said.