Another charge of rape has been added to the charge sheet in the case of a KZN principal accused of exposing himself to his pupils.
|||Durban - Another charge of rape has been added to the charge sheet in the case of the South Coast school principal accused of exposing himself and sexually assaulting his pupils.
This emerged in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court on Monday where the trial is set to be heard by Magistrate V Dube this week.
It also emerged that the 44-year-old principal, who cannot be named until he pleads, had a fallout with his previous attorney, Sithembiso Mbhele, and has now pinned his hopes on Durban attorney Anand Nepaul to keep him out of jail.
The man was arrested at a primary school in November last year after girls approached police officers who were visiting their school on an outreach programme.
They said the man had lured them into his office to clean, or to give them extra lessons.
But he has maintained his innocence, arguing that the children who filed the charges against him were being used by their teachers and parents as part of a “smear campaign” to discredit him.
On Monday, in a packed courtroom, attended by the man’s supporters and the children’s relatives, Dube granted a request by Nepaul preventing photographers from taking pictures of his client, saying it could influence the case.
She ordered a policewoman to monitor people sitting in the public gallery - to ensure they did not use cameras.
The man walked up to court from the holding cells, all smiles, and waved to his supporters.
Two witnesses faced their former principal for the first time on Monday, looking timidly at him as he looked down.
While the State was ready to proceed with the trial, the witnesses’ testimony was postponed to Wednesday to allow Nepaul time to prepare after it emerged that amendments were made in the charge sheet.
The man was teary-eyed when he was escorted back to the holding cells.
The Mercury