PORT ELIZABETH: After seven years, Makasonke Wellington Mboniswa (53) was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Friday. In 2011 the survivor was 11 years old staying with her mother and aunt in Kwazakhele. The other day Mboniswa, who was employed as an admin clerk at the Nelson Mandela Municipality, sent the little girl to a shop to buy airtime and a cold drink for him. The then 11-year old girl loaded the airtime as he requested.

Mboniswa then sent the girl’s mother to a shop to buy chicken, so that she could cook breakfast for him. During this time Mboniswa instructed the child to come closer to him laying on the bed. When the girl refused he grabbed, pulled and raped her.

When her mother returned she found her daughter in her room while Mboniswa was still in the house. Her mother told her not to be scared and they both left for school and reported the rape to the school’s deputy principal. After the rape the girl’s mother was kicked out of her sister’s home and for a time had nowhere to go.

The young girl bravely watched as her once father figure was sentenced life for raping her when she was just 11-years old.  She struggling to hold back her tears when seeing her rapist who she once called – Tata going down to prison. The 18-year-old girl said that after she completed her matric year she aspired to study towards becoming a social worker to help traumatised people cope and to turn her nightmare into something positive. Video by: Raahil Sain/ANA