The trial of a 28-year-old man accused of raping two nurses from Ga-Chuene Clinic and committing several other serious offences has been postponed to 22 October 2026 by the Polokwane High Court.
The postponement follows the unavailability of defence counsel due to the ongoing strike at Legal Aid South Africa. The accused remains in custody.
Full list of charges
He faces charges of attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, pointing of a firearm, two counts of kidnapping, five counts of rape, six counts of housebreaking with intent to commit an offence, and seven counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. His identity is withheld to protect a minor complainant in one of the rape charges.
Background of the alleged incidents
The charges arise from incidents allegedly committed between December 2024 and January 2025 in Ga-Chuene and Ga-Maja villages. The accused allegedly entered women's homes, threatened the occupants and demanded valuables, including cellphones, laptops and money. He is also alleged to have sexually assaulted minors.
Clinic attack details
In the incident at Ga-Chuene Clinic, the accused allegedly threatened security personnel with a firearm and handcuffed them before kidnapping two nurses. He allegedly took the nurses into nearby bushes, raped them and robbed them of their cellphones. The nurses subsequently managed to return to the clinic.
Investigations linked the accused to these offences while he was already in police custody in connection with an unrelated matter.