Angella Johnson
No road signs mark the way to China Town. Unlike its wealthy neighbours which flaunt thatched-roof mansions to passing motorists, the impoverished township lies concealed behind a curtain of tall leafy trees.
Also hidden in this dusty informal settlement – tucked between St Francis Bay and the Cape St Francis resort village in the Eastern Cape – is the sordid tale of a mother’s struggle to bring to trial her neighbour who is charged with raping her four-year-old daughter.
A working, single mother, Sandy (not her real name) had left her child at home to be cared for by a relative when the assault allegedly took place. “I had never imaged that such a thing could have happened here. And by someone I know,” she says.
The township, largely comprising black and white fishermen, swelled about 10 years ago with the growth of the calamari industry in an area more famed as a holiday playground for wealthy Capetonians.
Local people complain that crimes in China Town are not treated with the same degree of seriousness as those committed in nearby white communities.
It was only when an angry group of toyi-toying local youths threatened to take the law into their own hands that the alleged rapist was arrested, several days after the attack took place.
Two years on and Sandy is still waiting for the trial. “This man was given only R100 bail for the brutal attack on my child. I don’t think it’s fair that he should have been allowed free into the community.”
She recalls waking up in the middle of the night sometime in March 1996 to heard her daughter crying that it hurt when she tried to urinate. “I examined her and found she was bruised and bleeding down there, but she was too scared to tell me what had happened.”
After much coaxing the child finally whispered the name of the man she said had “put his thing inside me”. Sandy was told that the man, who runs a spaza shop, had seen her daughter and 13-year-old son playing in the street.
“He sent my son to get bread and milk from another shop and sent my daughter to get an envelope from his bedroom. Then he followed her, put her on the bed and pulled down her panties.”
According to the child’s statement the attacker inserted his finger into her vagina and told her not to scream or he would kill her mother and brother. He pulled down his trousers, raped her and sent her off with bananas, sweets and biscuits – and a warning of dire consequences if she told anyone.
Police drove mother and daughter to a doctor, who confirmed that the little girl had been raped. Sandy, worried about the child’s safety, sent her to live with her grandmother in East London.
Sitting in the cardboard-lined sitting room of her tiny house, built with government bricks, Sandy complains that the community has been let down by the judicial system.
“A day after he was released on bail the man threatened to kill me and my family. He was fined R200 for breaking his bail conditions, but I think he should have been jailed and the case quickly brought to court.”
Princess, who lives up the road, says the man’s presence has cast a shadow over the community. “I warn my children not to go near his place, but I still worry about them.”
An elderly-looking woman called Sandra claims the man also molested her two-year-old granddaughter, who has since been taken to another town for safekeeping. “It’s not fair that this thing has gone on for such a long time,” she says.
A stone’s throw away, the 32-year-old alleged rapist furiously denies the charges. “It’s not true, man. Those witches are spreading lies about me.” Waving his arms and gesticulating wildly he points to his genitals.
“Look, I have a big penis, right. If I had put it into that small woman [the four-year-old] she would not be able to walk for a long time. I used to give her sweeties and money, but that’s all.”
He seems more concerned about the lack of trade resulting from the case. “See what they have done,” he says, pointing to the empty shop with its pool table and sparsely filled shelves. “I used to be a big man around here, but they’ve ruined me.”
Arresting officer Paul Visagie blames a court backlog of cases, his “thorough” investigation and the defence lawyer’s poor health for the delay. But his personal attitude may add another dimension to Sandy’s long wait.
“The question is who raped her? Was it the suspect or could it have been someone else? It’s not easy to work with the people in China Town because they won’t give information about nothing,” says the detective.