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Rape-accused jumps out of dock after acquittal

Tonga - A man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl jumped out of the court dock when the magistrate ruled that he was not guilty.

The accused, Brian Mthobisi Tsobolo, 25, from Boschfontein trust near the Swazi border, was acquitted when appearing in the Boschfontein Regional Court on Wednesday, a Sapa correspondent reported.

Magistrate Edgar Moletsane told Tsobolo that he could not find him guilty because witnesses gave contradicting testimonies and that the State did not have enough evidence to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.

"Sir, I don't see any reason to keep you here because the State could not give the court information that can make me find you guilty," he said.

The complainant testified that Tsobolo had asked her to help his niece wash dishes and promised to pay them R5 each afterwards.

"When he returned I rushed to alert him about the money but he refused and pushed me inside his room where he raped me," she said.

The accused's niece denied that they were both asked to wash the dishes or that she saw the complainant being raped.

"She is lying. She didn't wash my uncle's dishes, I did it alone. She was not raped in front of me," said the niece.

Moletsane told the court that it was difficult for him to accept one version of the story over another.

He said the only thing for him to do was to acquit the accused.

Tsobolo was first arrested on 20 March 2010.

The case was then withdrawn until it was reinstated on 13 April 2014.

Tsobolo was out on R1 000 bail.

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