Mbuso Mandela (24), one of the grandsons of Nelson Mandela, appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on Friday, where he faced a rape charge. He is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in the toilets of a bar in Johannesburg.
The pub did not allow under-21s and the father of the girl clearly stated that she is 15 years old and she does not even have an identify document. Under South African law, sex with a person under the age of 16 is classified as rape whether consensual or not. Magistrate Pistorius Du Plessis of the Johannesburg Magistrates Court ruled on Friday that a copy of the alleged victim’s identity book be handed over to prove the girl’s age.
“My daughter doesn’t even have an id, she only has a birth certificate. She was born in 2000, and she definitely is 15 years old,” the father said. Mbuso’s lawyer claims that the two parties were in agreement and that the alleged victim was 16 years old. Mbuso’s application will weigh on the alleged victim’s age. However, according to Daily Sun, Nelson Mandela’s second wife Winnie Mandela sent a bodyguard to threaten the alleged victim’s family not to press charges. Apparently the bodyguard went to the family disguised as a police officer but failed to provide a badge when he was asked by the father after he recommended that there was no need to arrest the suspect. A press conference was expected to be held by the Mandela family.
