Atteridgeville step-father accused of raping teenager till she fell sick to remain in custody

Residents of Jeffesville in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, are relieved that Alfred Maloba, the suspected stepfather accused of sexually grooming a teenage girl, has been denied bail.

Maloba was given custody of five children, including the victim, after their mother died in 2021 from a long-term illness.

The alleged sexual predator, molested his 14-year-old stepdaughter from November last year until his arrest in early April this year.

The Atteridgeville Magistrate Court denied him bail today and informed him that if convicted of raping the teenager, he will be sentenced to life.

According to the victim’s uncle, social workers discovered that the victim’s womb is unlikely to be able to bear children in the future, and that she caught HIV as a result of the incident.

He arrived at the Atteridgeville Magistrate Court today, expressing his displeasure with the suspect’s alleged crime.

Kgothatso Ratladi, says the youngest of the five siblings, is a girl under the age of six.

“The social workers said that my niece has an unpleasent stench and we don’t understand why. After the doctor’s checked her, the social workers revealed to us that she had been raped, that she had contarcted a sexually transmitted disease, and that she has a 50/50 chance of not being able to bear children in future,” says Ratladi.

The uncle, who was almost in tears and visibly upset by the suspect’s actions, said the law must take its course and that the girl receive justice for being violated.

Although the community is upset about his alleged activities, they are happy that he is still in prison and believe he should stay there because he damaged the girl’s future.

A resident, Precious Moemise says what happened to the young girl is heartbreaking.

“I can’t be happy to see even my worst enemy being raped. Rape is rape and it must come to an end and this is just the beginning of our fight against it. We are going to fight this war to the end. Today I’m sad but also happy because they didn’t give the culprit bail. We were not going to allow them to give him bail; he must just stay in custody,” says Moemise.

Outraged Atteridgeville community members, say they want to ensure that the suspect remains behind bars.

Kathrina Sibisi, who stays in extension seven of Atteridgeville, in Tshwane, says the suspect should suffer similar fate as his victim in jail.

“We don’t want him to get bail. He must just stay in jail where he will meet his match so that he can get raped the way he raped a minor. In jail, they will make him their wife. We are sick and tired. Our child’s future is destroyed today,” says Kathrina.

Founder of Dipeu Tsa Tshwane, a youth-led organisation, Samuel Masilela is urging the famiily to keep fighting.

“This case is not child’s play. I’m pleading with the family to please not fail the little girl. Keep working with the media so that they can make your struggle known because if we don’t do that, the court will withdarw the case and we all do not want that to happen,” says Masilela.

The matter will return to court on the 26th of May.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao