District surgeon on rape charge

Report and picture by Denver Donian

STUTTERHEIM -- Whittlesea district surgeon Dr Mbulelo Erasmus Mashiya, 34, who allegedly raped an under-age girl which resulted in her falling pregnant and having a forced abortion, was refused bail in the magistrate's court here yesterday.

Mashiya was arrested by the police child protection unit from East London on Saturday and appeared briefly in court on Monday. He was remanded in custody for a bail application yesterday.

The application by his attorney, Zuko Tini, was turned down and he was remanded in custody until Wednesday.

Investigating officer Sergeant Mzuzile Mkohlwa said it was alleged that Mashiya raped the 17-old girl, who cannot be identified, several times during March and April while her mother was not at home.

He is alleged to have told her not to tell anyone as it could never be proved that he had raped her.

The girl subsequently discovered she was pregnant.

Mkohlwa said Mashiya is then alleged to have made an appointment for her to have an abortion without her mother's consent.

It is alleged that he used a false name and age for the girl when making the appointment with an East London gynaecologist.

The pregnancy was terminated in May. The same day the girl's mother discovered that Mashiya had taken the girl to East London for an abortion.

After initially refusing to tell her mother what had happened, the girl later broke down after a suicide attempt and told her she had been raped.