Trial of man accused of raping two Ga-Chuene clinic nurses postponed

The trial of a 28-year-old man accused of raping two nurses from Ga-Chuene Clinic in Limpopo and committing several other serious offences has been postponed to 22 October due to the unavailability of his defence lawyer.

The Polokwane High Court postponed the trial on Monday following the ongoing strike at Legal Aid South Africa, which affected the availability of defence counsel.

The accused remains in custody.

He faces charges of attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, pointing a firearm, two counts of kidnapping, five counts of rape, six counts of housebreaking with intent to commit an offence and seven counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the accused’s identity was being withheld to protect a minor complainant in one of the rape charges.

The charges relate to incidents allegedly committed between December 2024 and January 2025 in Ga-Chuene and Ga-Maja villages.

The accused allegedly broke into women’s homes, threatened occupants and robbed them of valuables, including cellphones, laptops and money. He is also accused of sexually assaulting minors.

In the Ga-Chuene Clinic incident, the accused allegedly threatened security personnel with a firearm, handcuffed them and kidnapped two nurses.

He allegedly took the nurses to nearby bushes, where he raped them and robbed them of their cellphones. The nurses later managed to return to the clinic.

According to the NPA, investigators linked the accused to the offences while he was already in police custody in connection with an unrelated matter.

The trial is expected to resume on 22 October.