Pule waga Mabe
A priest in a small village in the Northern Province is appearing in court next month on suspicion of statutory rape after he allegedly impregnated a teenager in his care.
Residents of Tshavhalovhedzi village are calling for the immediate removal of Joseph Ramavu (37) from the Nzumbulolo church. Ramavu is also employed as a nurse at the local hospital.
He has already appeared at the Dzanani Magistrate’s Court and is out on R2 500 bail. The case has been postponed to April 25.
Residents want him out of the village, describing what he has allegedly done as “immoral” and “insane”.
Tiny Makhado* (15) is five months pregnant and lives with a relative in a small hut on a dirt road that runs through the hills and valleys surrounding the village.
Ramavu has allegedly been having sex with the girl since last year. When her relative discovered what was happening, he allegedly threatened he would make sure she never received her government pension again if she told anyone else.
The relative said the girl was supposed to be at school this year but she had not returned.
The relative says: “I had a good relationship with the priest and [she] used to go and watch television at his house.”
“I never suspected anything because I had trust in the priest,” she says. Makhado is “going into hiding” because she does not want people to see that she is pregnant, she said.
Inspector Obed Masiagwala of Siloam police station, who is the investigating officer in the case, confirmed that the teenager is relocating to another area. He says there are five cases of statutory rape open at the police station, where most of the suspects are teachers.
Masiagwala says police learned of Makhado’s case when residents dropped notes into the suggestion box at the police station.
Meanwhile, the South African National Council for Child Welfare has expressed dismay about the intention of the South African Police Service to phase out all specialised services like the family violence, child protection and sexual offences units.
Representative Andre Kalis says: “Their phasing out and incorporation in other units means that children will not receive the priority protection they are entitled to as the most abused and vulnerable of society.
“Child Welfare renders a significant bulk of child protection services in the country, dealing with more than 8?000 physically and sexually abused and more than 10?000 neglected children every month. This figure keeps on increasing at an alarming rate and, combined with the fact that 61% of the child population live in ultra poverty circumstances, this results in an emergency state for our children.”
* Not her real name