Country in grip of r ape epidemic - magistrate

'With strong evidence against you, I expected you to plead guilty to the charge, but you chose to deny it. You were also not remorseful,' Magistrate Willie Wilkens told him. Wilkens said the girl was a virgin at the time. She could not defend herself. He added: 'This country is facing epidemic proportions of r ape, and more especially on children. Statistics show that men use force or power to commit such offences. Although government has introduced programmes to stop r ape, it is still the same,' he said. At the Nelspruit Regional Court alone, there were 230 r ape cases still waiting to be heard. 'It is the courts' duty to ensure women and children are defended from r apists.' Full report on the News24 site

Columnist David Bullard is suing the Mail & Guardian for more than R16m, according to a Beeld report. Bullard argues his reputation and dignity have been affected by that newspaper and its personnel. He added a fourth claim at the end of last week following a new column by M&G social media editor Haji Mohamed Dawjee. The claims relate to a public spat between Bullard and journalist Michelle Solomon, an activist who says she was r aped by a friend's ex-boyfriend in 2010. Bullard challenged Solomon's version on Twitter, after which Dawjee wrote a column calling him a 'bully' and 'bitter journalist'. The second claim is also against Dawjee who described Bullard as a s exist, racist and 'r ape apologist'. M&G executive Alistair Fairweather is also cited as a party in connection with a column saying Bullard is the epitome of the 'r ape culture' in the country. Full Beeld report