Port Elizabeth – The case against a 19-year-old Blue Bulls rugby player, charged with rape and robbery, was postponed in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, pending a decision from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). 

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Tsepo Ndwalaza said that this was standard procedure in which the NPA would decide whether or not to prosecute the rugby player on charges of rape and robbery. 

The former Grey High School pupil, who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, is facing charges after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him in December last year.The alleged incident happened after a night out in KwaMagxasi in Port Elizabeth. 

He was at court on Tuesday, supported by a host of family members. The rugby player, who was released on bail of R10 000 last month, intends to plead not guilty to the charges and alleges that the woman’s motive for opening a case against him was as a result of her stealing his wallet and cellphone. 

He previously claimed that the pair did have sex, but that it was consensual. 

According to the State, it was the defence’s submission during the bail hearing that the woman had consumed alcohol on the night of December 27, 2017, with the State charging that she was raped early the next morning. The State believes that the woman could not have consented to sexual intercourse if she was under the influence of alcohol. The State further contends that on the night of the alleged incident, the complainant and the player had attended a party at a flat in Central. 

The woman’s statement to police details that the player and another person drove the woman home. At some stage the athlete needed to relieve himself. When the car stopped the woman decided to walk home, she claimed that the rugby player came from behind, tripped and dragged her into the bushes where he raped her. 

However, the defence said it was in possession of a voice recording where the woman could be heard saying that she got out of the vehicle herself and walked home and there was no mention in these recordings that she was dragged. 

The defence believes that if the matter goes to trial, the woman will be confronted with material contradictions. According to evidence before court, in the hours before the alleged attack, witnesses had seen the woman kissing, hugging and fondling the athlete. They also noted that the woman had consumed alcohol and substantial amounts of cannabis. 

The case was postponed until May 10 for further investigation. 

African News Agency/ANA

Port Elizabeth – The case against a 19-year-old Blue Bulls rugby player, charged with rape and robbery, was postponed in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, pending a decision from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). 

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Tsepo Ndwalaza said that this was standard procedure in which the NPA would decide whether or not to prosecute the rugby player on charges of rape and robbery. 

The former Grey High School pupil, who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, is facing charges after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him in December last year.The alleged incident happened after a night out in KwaMagxasi in Port Elizabeth. 

He was at court on Tuesday, supported by a host of family members. The rugby player, who was released on bail of R10 000 last month, intends to plead not guilty to the charges and alleges that the woman’s motive for opening a case against him was as a result of her stealing his wallet and cellphone. 

He previously claimed that the pair did have sex, but that it was consensual. 

According to the State, it was the defence’s submission during the bail hearing that the woman had consumed alcohol on the night of December 27, 2017, with the State charging that she was raped early the next morning. The State believes that the woman could not have consented to sexual intercourse if she was under the influence of alcohol. The State further contends that on the night of the alleged incident, the complainant and the player had attended a party at a flat in Central. 

The woman’s statement to police details that the player and another person drove the woman home. At some stage the athlete needed to relieve himself. When the car stopped the woman decided to walk home, she claimed that the rugby player came from behind, tripped and dragged her into the bushes where he raped her. 

However, the defence said it was in possession of a voice recording where the woman could be heard saying that she got out of the vehicle herself and walked home and there was no mention in these recordings that she was dragged. 

The defence believes that if the matter goes to trial, the woman will be confronted with material contradictions. According to evidence before court, in the hours before the alleged attack, witnesses had seen the woman kissing, hugging and fondling the athlete. They also noted that the woman had consumed alcohol and substantial amounts of cannabis. 

The case was postponed until May 10 for further investigation. 

African News Agency/ANA

PORT ELIZABETH – The case against a 19-year-old Blue Bulls rugby player, charged with rape and robbery, will resume in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday.

The former Grey High School pupil, who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, is facing charges after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him in December last year.The alleged incident happened after a night out in KwaMagxasi in Port Elizabeth.

The rugby player, who was released on bail of R10 000 last month, intends to plead not guilty to the charges at trial and alleges that the woman’s motive for opening a case against him was as a result of her stealing his wallet and cellphone. He claimed that the pair did have sex, but it was consensual.

According to the State, it was the defence’s submission during the bail hearing that the woman had consumed alcohol on the night of December 27, 2017, before allegedly being raped early the next morning. 

The State believes that the woman could not consent to sexual intercourse if she was under the influence of alcohol.

The State contends that on the night of the alleged incident, the complainant and the player had attended a party at a flat in Central. The woman’s statement to police details that the player, and another person, drove the woman home.

At some stage the athlete needed to relieve himself. When the car stopped the woman decided to walk home, she claimed that the rugby player came from behind, tripped and dragged her into the bushes where he raped her.

However, the defence said it was in possession of a voice recording where the complainant could be heard saying that she got out of the vehicle herself and walked home and there was no mention in these recordings that she was dragged.

The defence believes that at trial, the woman will be confronted with material contradictions.

According to evidence before court, in the hours before the alleged attack, witnesses had seen the woman kissing, hugging and fondling the athlete. They also noted that the woman had consumed alcohol and substantial amounts of cannabis.

African News Agency/ANA

PORT ELIZABETH – The case against a 19-year-old Blue Bulls rugby player, charged with rape and robbery, will resume in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday.

The former Grey High School pupil, who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, is facing charges after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him in December last year.The alleged incident happened after a night out in KwaMagxasi in Port Elizabeth.

The rugby player, who was released on bail of R10,000 last month, intends to plead not guilty to the charges at trial and alleges that the woman’s motive for opening a case against him was as a result of her stealing his wallet and cellphone. He claimed that the pair did have sex, but it was consensual.

According to the State, it was the defence’s submission during the bail hearing that the woman had consumed alcohol on the night of December 27, 2017, before allegedly being raped early the next morning.

The State believes that the woman could not consent to sexual intercourse if she was under the influence of alcohol.

The State contends that on the night of the alleged incident, the complainant and the player had attended a party at a flat in Central. The woman’s statement to police details that the player, and another person, drove the woman home.

READ: Blue Bulls rugby player charged with rape waits for bail verdict

At some stage the athlete needed to relieve himself. When the car stopped the woman decided to walk home, she claimed that the rugby player came from behind, tripped and dragged her into the bushes where he raped her.

However, the defence said it was in possession of a voice recording where the complainant could be heard saying that she got out of the vehicle herself and walked home and there was no mention in these recordings that she was dragged.

The defence believes that at trial, the woman will be confronted with material contradictions.

According to evidence before court, in the hours before the alleged attack, witnesses had seen the woman kissing, hugging and fondling the athlete. They also noted that the woman had consumed alcohol and substantial amounts of cannabis.

African News Agency

Port Elizabeth – A 19-year-old Blue Bulls rugby player charged with rape and robbery was granted bail of R10 000, while the woman who opened the case against him was criticised for “speaking out” on social media, by the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape  on Thursday. 

The former Grey High School pupil, who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, is facing charges after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him in December last year. 

The alleged incident happened after a night out in KwaMagxasi in Port Elizabeth. In summarising evidence before court on Thursday, Magistrate Una Rhodes read out statements from witnesses who had also attended the party at a flat in Central. 

In the hours before the alleged attack, witnesses had seen the woman kissing, hugging and fondling the athlete. They also noted that the woman had consumed alcohol and substantial amounts of cannabis.  

Read more: Rape accused Blue Bulls player needs bail to advance his career – lawyer

The rugby player who intends to plead not guilty to the charges at trial, alleged that the woman’s motive for opening a case against him was as a result of her stealing his wallet and cellphone. He claimed that the pair did have sex, but it was consensual. 

The State on the other hand, claimed that the defence tried to tarnish the name of the complainant and according to the prosecution the woman could have been smoking flavoured tobacco and not dagga. 

Magistrate Rhodes criticised the woman for her outbursts on social media in the form of voice notes. She said that it raised serious questions in her mind, leaving room to doubt the reliability of her evidence. She also noted that there were contradictions in her statement to police and the voice notes. 

Also read: Blue Bulls rape accused awaits bail verdict

In her statement to police the woman claimed that she was dragged from the car they drove in and raped in the bushes, while in the voice notes she claimed that she got out of the vehicle, walked home and was attacked from behind.

However, Rhodes said that it was not the role of the bail court to decide on issues of credibility and those were matters to be dealt with at trial.  

Rhodes said that she was able to find that exceptional circumstances existed to warrant the athlete’s release on bail. “Being a sports star is not exceptional, however the circumstances around his career amount to exceptional circumstances,” she said. 

Rhodes said that rugby allowed him to be self sufficient and take care of the needs of his two-year-old son. 

On taking the community into consideration, she said it was disconcerting a rape of a five-year old child, in the same court building, got no attention from the public. She said that she condoned “victims speaking out” but it needed to be done in line with following procedure. “Why does the community feel no outrage? Do the community only feel rage because he is a Blue Bulls rugby player?” she asked. 

“The public had protested but this court cannot be held to ransom. Seemingly the public already found him guilty but this court can’t be bound by public opinion,” said Rhodes.  

The rugby player is to report to the Sunnyside Police Station in Pretoria thrice a week and to have no contact with the complainant and witnesses as part of his bail conditions. The case was postponed until March 27 for further investigation. 

African News Agency/ANA

PORT ELIZABETH – A 19-year-old Blue Bulls rugby player charged with rape and robbery will know on Thursday whether or not he will be released on bail, the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape heard on Monday.

The player who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, is facing the charges after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him.

The alleged incident happened after a night out in KwaMagxasi in Port Elizabeth on December 28 last year.

During closing arguments in the bail application on Monday, defence attorney Danie Gouws, insisted that his client did not rape the woman, but rather the young woman made advances on the rugby player.

READ: SA Rugby and Coetzee part ways

Gouws said the pair did have sex, but it was consensual and happened in a vehicle which was parked near the party they attended and that there was uncontested evidence that the woman had stolen the athlete’s wallet while they were at McDonalds.

He questioned why the accused would take along the woman’s cousin in the vehicle if he intended to rape her.

“It doesn’t make sense that if you are going to rape someone that you take a witness along.

READ: E Cape police arrest man for rape and murder of girl 15

“There are material contradictions in her statements, in the first she was dragged into the bushes and raped and the second she was walking to her house and attacked from behind.”

Gouws added that it became “even more bizarre” that the woman did not cry for help or alert her cousin that she was being raped.

But State prosecutor, Nontshumayelo Balicawa said that people reacted differently to rape.

Balicawa said that the athlete was a well known rugby player and the community would be shocked if he were to be released on bail.

She dismissed the defence’s argument that no blood was found when the woman was examined by a forensic nurse.

She further criticized the defence’s own expert, in that he was not present at the woman’s medical examination.

Judgment will be handed down on Thursday.

African News Agency

A 19-year-old Blue Bulls rugby player charged with two counts of rape and one count of robbery is in line for selection for the captaincy of the Under-20 Springbok side for the World Cup Championship in France this year and because of his high profile rugby commitments should be released on bail, the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape heard on Friday.

The rugby player is facing charges after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him on December 28, last year. The alleged incident took place after a night out in KwaMagxaki in Port Elizabeth. The player who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, is from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape but desperately wants to be released on bail to get back to his rugby commitments in Pretoria.

During court proceedings, Investigating Officer, Captain Michael Shanagan was cross examined by lawyer Danie Gouws. Gouws argued that the player should be released on bail as he was also selected to play in the Super Rugby tournament which starts in later this month.

Gouws told the court that the franchise wanted the 19-year-old player to be released so that he could start training. He argued that it was unfair to let the athlete languish in prison for something he probably did not do.

“If he is not granted bail, they most probably won’t have his contract renewed. He will not be able to play rugby and will most probably become a pauper and his two-year-old son will suffer. What’s serious is when an innocent person is accused of rape,” Gouws  said.

“He will be playing one game in New Zealand, one game in Australia and one game in Argentina. He will be supervised by the CEO and management, it is very easy to get someone back from those countries.”

Gouws argued that Makhaya Ntini was accused of rape yet he was released on bail and even went on to point out that South Africa’s very own President Jacob Zuma, was not detained in custody after being charged with rape.

“I was in contact with the CEO, and it seems if anything he will get a fine. They are waiting for him to come out so that he can start training and hopefully realise his dream of playing for the Springboks,” Gouws said.

“It’s my understanding, from my sources that he is going to be the Under-20 Captain for the World Cup,” said Gouws.

According to detective Shanagan, on the night of the alleged incident, the complainant and the player had attended a party at a flat in Central. The woman’s statement to Shanagan details that the player, and another person, drove the woman home.

At some stage the athlete needed to relieve himself. When the car stopped the woman decided to walk home, she claimed that the rugby player came from behind, tripped and dragged her into the bushes where he raped her.

However, Gouws said that he was in possession of a voice recording where the complainant could be heard saying that she got out of the vehicle herself and walked home and there was no mention in these recordings that she was dragged.

Gouws said that the State had a weak case and at trial the woman would be confronted with what he called a material contradiction. He said that the woman was posting information all over social media.

Gouws went on to show the court a video of the party in Central where alcohol was seemingly being consumed and with the woman allegedly wearing the rugby player’s jersey. The State’s forensic nurse noted that the woman had sustained bruising on her legs, breasts and tenderness on her face.

However, Gouws questioned why her clothing was clean and no blood was noted after an alleged brutal rape. He further dismissed the nurse’s qualifications and pointed out the findings of his own forensic expert, Dr Phillip Kapp.

“Abrasions are nil, scars are nil, swelling is nil, bruising yes but in the absence of significant injuries [Dr Kapp] cannot agree with the examiner’s conclusion consistent with forceful anal penetration. We are sitting with a lady who is a afraid of her father, it is hard to believe it was her first time [having sex], it’s very difficult to say that,” Gouws argued.

The bail application was postponed until February 5 for argument.

– African News Agency (ANA)

Allister Coetzee quits as Springbok coach

 

Cape Town – The Blue Bulls player who last week was arrested on sexual assault charges, has appeared in court in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth. 

The player, who is part of the junior setup at the Bulls, has not yet been named as he has not yet pleaded in the case. 

Last week, the Blue Bulls company confirmed that the player had been arrested on allegations of sexual assault.

In a press release to the media, the company stated that they “would not make any comment at this time and will do so only when the legal system has run its course”. 

The 19-year-old attended Grey High in Port Elizabeth and played for the EP Craven Week and SA Schools sides in 2015 and 2016.

The case was postponed until further notice. 

Port Elizabeth – An under-21 Blue Bulls rugby player charged with rape made a brief appearance in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Monday. 

The rugby player is facing a charge of rape after an 18-year-old woman opened a case against him last week. 

The alleged incident took place after a night out in KwaMagxaki in Port Elizabeth. Police said that the man was arrested on December 28. 

It is understood that rugby player was driving with a friend and the woman when an argument ensued. The vehicle came to a standstill and the rugby player allegedly pulled the woman out of the car and raped her in a bush and left. 

Read: Bulls player in custody over rape allegations

During proceedings on Monday, the State asked the court to postpone the matter for profiles, and asked for the formal bail application to rather proceed next week. The profiles include background checks on whether an accused has previous convictions or pending cases.

The State indicated they would be ready to proceed with the bail application, even if profiles were still not ready by next week. 

The defence made a request for a final remand. 

The rugby player, who cannot be named until he has formally pleaded, appeared in the dock dressed in a checkered shirt and jeans. 

He smiled at the public seated in a packed court gallery, to the annoyance of community members there to support the 18-year-old woman. 

The case was postponed until January 15.

Meanwhile, The Blue Bulls Company has issued a statement acknowledging the arrest, saying a further statement will be released “once the legal system has run its course”.

African News Agency/ANA

CAPE TOWN – Blue Bulls Under-21 player Khwezi Mafu is expected to apply for bail on Monday.

Mafu is accused of raping an 18-year-old woman on 28 December.

The Blue Bulls Company has issued a statement acknowledging the loose forward’s arrest, but saying that they’re not in a position to comment at this stage.

A voicenote has been circulated on YouTube and other social media, in which an unidentified man describes what happened on the night Mafu allegedly raped an 18-year old woman.

In it, the man claims that Mafu dragged the woman to a bushy area in Kwamagxaki in Port Elizabeth and proceeded to rape her.

The woman then took off, and Mafu allegedly ran after her and grabbed her phone.

Police have confirmed some of these details, adding that Mafu and the woman had been at a tavern together, before leaving in the same car.

Mafu faces charges of rape and robbery.