Alleged Victim Of Mandela’s Grandson: ‘He Was Friendzoned’

In Johannesburg, South Africa, one of the grandsons of the much loved late president Nelson Mandela, Mbuso Mandela, was ordered to remain in custody for the crime of alleged rape pending the collection of more evidence for a bail hearing. Mbuso Mandela is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at a Johannesburg restaurant on the evening of August 7, 2015. His arrest on August 18 was previously reported by the Inquisitr.

According to Yahoo News, Mbuso Mandela’s defense attorneys will continue to collect evidence and may be back in court tomorrow to attempt a bond hearing. Many members of the Mandela family were present in the courtroom when his lawyers asked that the bail hearing be postponed for lack of evidence, which the judge granted. Mandela’s attorneys state that they are attempting to locate a witness who could verify that the sexual encounter was consensual.

The judge in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court also ordered the prosecution to produce the official identity document of the teenager who is accusing Mbuso Mandela of rape in order to settle the defense’s dispute that the girl is 16-years-old, the age of legal consent for sexual contact in South Africa. Mbuso Mandela is 24-years-old.

According to News24, the father of the girl is outraged at the attack and says it was not consensual at all. He states that he hopes Mandela is not shown favoritism by the courts for his famous family name. Mbuso Mandela was residing at the family palace of Nelson Mandela when the attack allegedly took place, but the attack happened in the bathroom of a restaurant, according to the girl’s father. The girl’s father says that the girl and the whole family are suffering and not coping well with the alleged attack.

“My daughter is not doing well at all. My whole family is not coping with what happened. My daughter doesn’t even have an ID; she only has a birth certificate. She was born in 2000, and she definitely is 15 years old. I have always heard about rape, but once it hits a person close to you, you realise it’s a painful thing that you don’t wish on anyone. I’m just praying that this case will be treated like any other rape case.”

Official court documents by the girl stated that she had “friendzoned” Mbuso Mandela, telling him that their relationship was platonic only, but that he refused to accept this and instead raped her.

[Image by Themba Hadebe / Getty Images]