Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday December 4, 2001
The rape is the latest in a growing number of infant-rapes, fueled by a myth that sex with a virgin will cure a man of HIV /AIDS , the illness which affects one in nine of the country's population. Around 100 placard-waving protesters hung diapers stained with red dye that looked like blood outside the Johannesburg Magistrates Court and demanded the harshest sentence possible for the two accused men.
They were joined by South Africa's woman Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the ex-wife of former president Nelson Mandela.
"Animals are better than these people," shouted one male protester in disgust.
"It's like we have a sick society. I don't think a normal person would take a baby and rape them. No bail must be given," Faith Mazibuko, Chairwoman of the Women's Caucus of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), told Reuters.
The accused, Martin Dlamini, 25, and another young man aged 17 years, appeared in court charged with rape and abuse and neglect of a minor child.
They will be remanded at the Johannesburg prison until December 11, when their case appears again for hearing and at which the minor is expected to apply for bail, public prosecutor Leana Fick told reporters.
Anger has grown since the rape of a nine-month-old baby by six men last month and rape activists have called for the death penalty, outlawed in South Africa, for those convicted of rape.
South Africa has one of the highest incidents of rape in the world with some 21,000 cases of rape of minors reported to the police in 2000. Police say most of the crimes are committed by male relatives.
More than 50,000 rapes are reported to the police each year but the figure heavily underestimates the true extent of the crime, rape support groups say.
Fick said the baby's mother, who was arrested on Monday, could be charged at a later time upon completion of investigations.
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