Former MEC accused of raping daughters granted R20,000 bail

An ANC official who was arrested last month on charges of raping his twin daughters has been released on R20,000 bail.

The man - who cannot be named to protect the identity of his children - appeared before the Nelspruit magistrate's court on Wednesday alongside his 26-year-old stepson, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.

“I can confirm that both of them have been granted bail of R20,000 each, with the matter now postponed to November 20 for the director of public prosecutions to make a decision and for further investigations,” said NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.

The pair were arrested last month. Nyuswa said the ANC man had been charged with rape and sexual assault, while the stepson faced a charge of rape.

Nyuswa said the NPA initially opposed bail because of the seriousness of the offence and prevalence of gender-based violence in the country.

TimesLIVE earlier reported that the official had been suspended after the allegations emerged.

ANC Limpopo secretary Lindiwe Ntshalintshali said at the time that the party viewed the allegations as serious and vowed to support the victims.

“[He] has been summarily suspended as a member of the ANC ... until the case is concluded by the competent court, consistent with the resolutions of the most recent national executive committee meeting of the ANC and the 54th national conference, which resolved that all members charged for corruption and other serious crimes should step aside from all activities associated with the ANC,” she said.

TimesLIVE