Kenyan national in court over alleged rape and grooming of Limpopo learners - IOL

Kenyan national in court over alleged rape of Limpopo school learners.

A 44-year-old Kenyan national has appeared in the Groblersdal Magistrates’ Court in Limpopo on charges relating to the alleged rape and sexual grooming of school learners.

The accused faces two counts of rape and two counts of sexual grooming.

His identity has been withheld to protect the identities of the child complainants and prevent possible secondary victimisation.

According to NPA regional spokesperson Mashudu Malabi the alleged offences date back to 2022.

Malabi said he accused allegedly recruited learners from a local school and took them to his rented room in Groblersdal.

It is alleged that he filmed the children while they were naked and gave them money before allegedly compelling them to perform sexual acts on him.

The NPA said the accused allegedly used promises of cellphones as an incentive to get the children to participate in the sexual acts.

"The matter came to light after the victims were allegedly instructed to recruit other learners from the same school, resulting in the information being disclosed at the school," said Malabi.

The matter was subsequently reported to the police, and the accused was arrested.

Malabi said the State is opposing the accused's release on bail.

The matter was postponed to September 23, 2026, to allow the accused to obtain legal representation and for police investigations to continue.

Meanwhile, the accused remains in custody.

The NPA said it regarded allegations involving sexual offences against children as serious and would prioritise the prosecution of the matter, while taking into account the vulnerability of the complainants.