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A ward councillor in the Matatiele Municipality in the Eastern Cape has been jailed for ten years for raping a woman employed as part of the Extended Public Works Program.
The National Prosecuting Authority said Ward 14 Councillor, 43-year-old Sibongiseni Baba, was sentenced in the Mount Fletcher Magistrate’s Court this week.
NPA spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, said Baba’s aide, Leota Tlala (40), an EPWP supervisor, was also sentenced to five years in jail for sexually assaulting the same woman.
He said the incident happened in January 2019, Baba, also the ANC branch chairperson, sent Tlala to fetch the woman, who was said to be active in the party.
Tyali said Baba took her to a secluded spot where, after spurning his advances, he pulled her out of his car and raped her, while Tlala’s sexual assault incident occurred prior to them leaving.
He said during the trial, the duo denied ever making any contact of a sexual nature with the victim, claiming that the allegations against them were part of a political plot.
Tyali said in passing sentence, Magistrate Phathiswa Mjame, “agreed with the prosecutor that the two men abused their positions of power against the victim,” stressing that as Baba was an ANC branch chairperson and leader, served as an aggravating factor.”
