Durban — The trial against a man alleged to have raped and then killed a 17-year-old girl begins on Tuesday in the Durban High Court.
Samkelo Victus Dube, 29, appeared in court on Monday where a date for the start of his trial was set. He is charged with rape, murder, and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Dube allegedly stabbed Sibahle Faith Biyela in the forehead with a screwdriver after allegedly raping her in Folweni at the time when the country was under lockdown due to Covid-19 in 2020.
Trial dates were previously set in June 2022, however, following consultation with his Legal Aid South Africa attorney, Dube was sent to Fort Napier for mental observation.
This had been after his attorney was unable to get clear instructions from him during consultation coupled with the fact that his family had said that at some point the accused had suffered an injury to his head which they suspected caused his mental state to deteriorate.
In August last year, Dube was admitted to Fort Napier to undergo 30 days of mental observation.
On Monday, Dube who was declared fit to stand trial was allocated a judge who would be hearing his trial on Tuesday.
Dube is also alleged to have assaulted Thandiwe Princess Shange by stabbing her with a screwdriver with the intent of causing her grievous bodily harm.
It is alleged that Sibahle, Shange and Dube were friends and Dube was well-known to the two.
The State alleges that on the evening of Sunday, October 4, 2020, Sibahle, Shange, and Dube were socialising together at Dube’s residence where he allegedly had made repeated sexual advances towards Sibahle who rejected these.
“The victim and Shange left the accused’s place just after midnight on Monday, October 5, 2020. As they were walking home, the accused ran up to them accusing the victim of having stolen his cellphone.
“An argument ensued between the accused and Shange. He began assaulting Shange and stabbed her in the forehead with a screwdriver,” reads Dube’s indictment.
Following this, Sibahle ran away and Dube is alleged to have chased her and caught her taking her back to his place.
“The victim ran away and was chased by the accused. At some point the accused caught her and took her back to his residence where he pushed a towel into her mouth, assaulted, stabbed, and raped her,” alleges the State.
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