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The Mpumalanga ANC leader arrested for the alleged repeated rapes of his 8-year-old twin daughters is believed to have sexually violated the children multiple times in their home.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the province Monica Nyuswa told The Star on Monday that the man, 48, and his stepson, 26, faced several counts of rape.
“They will appear in court for multiple counts of rape. They are due to make a formal bail application on October 1,” Nyuswa said.
“One of the twins told a teacher in her school about the incidents. She indicated that the same thing was also happening to her sister.
“The teacher then alerted the police and the cases were opened. The children cannot tell how many times they were violated because they are young, but the two have been charged with multiple counts of rape,” Nyuswa added, on the grounds that the accused would make contact with the children.
The pair made a brief appearance at a magistrate’s court on Monday morning, just hours after their arrests.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi confirmed police arrested the pair at home.
“The allegations are that his stepson also raped the children, hence he was also arrested along with the politician,”
The 48-year-old is a high-ranking ANC member in Mpumalanga. He was an MEC from 2014 to 2019.
He served in the party’s provincial executive committee at the time of his alleged predatory acts.
The politician, who cannot be named to protect the identities of his children, represented the ANC in the National Assembly between 2004 and 2014 and at one stage was chairperson of the communications portfolio committee.
The ANC in Mpumalanga expressed shock over this latest case.
Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, the acting provincial secretary, said the party learned with “serious shock and anger” that he allegedly raped his children.
Ntshalintshali revealed the man has been suspended from the ANC.
“(He) has been summarily suspended as a member of the ANC and PEC until the case is concluded by the competent courts of the land consistent with the resolutions of the most recent National Executive Committee meeting of the ANC and the 54th National Conference, which resolved that all members charged for corruption and other serious crimes should step aside from all activities associated with the ANC,” she said.
The DA applauded the ANC for suspending the man.
“The DA also calls on the ANC not to use its power to protect (him) from law enforcement agencies,” the DA’s Jane Sithole said.
“We don’t want to hear these charges are ‘politically motivated’. They must let the law take its course, and if *Zebulon is found guilty, he must be imprisoned like all offenders.
“We cannot have a former MP and MEC who raped his own children while South Africa is fighting the scourge of gender-based violence.
“He should be punished harshly if found guilty. Rapists must be removed from society as a matter of urgency,” Sithole said.
The Star