Mankweng Court Postpones Bail Ruling For Former Teacher Rape Case

The Mankweng Magistrates Court in Limpopo has postponed the case of a former teacher accused of raping a 13-year-old learner to next Tuesday for a decision on his bail application .

The accused resigned from his position as a teacher after his arrest last month. He faces counts of rape and child sexual grooming.

The state and the defence closed their arguments on the bail application. The lawyer for the former teacher has told the court that public opinion should not be used to determine his clients bail application.

Lawyer Michael Khumalo argues that the accused must be granted bail, and anyone who is not satisfied with the decision has the right to appeal the decision.

The public will express its opinion but our decision here in court should be based on what the public opinion is court should be more inclined to granting bail not than to refusing bail at the end of this proceedings any party which is not happy with the decision of the court has an option to take the matter further by either an appeal or review, Khumalo says.