- A 19-year-old man from Kraaifontein, Luvo Gqaza, appeared in court for assaulting his 82-year-old grandmother, with the case postponed to 12 July for a bail application.
- The incident, captured on video and shared on social media, showed the man viciously attacking his grandmother, leading to public outrage and police intervention.
- The elderly woman was hospitalised for an unrelated ailment and declined to submit a statement, while the state plans to oppose Gqaza’s bail application.
The case against the 19-year-old man from Wallacedene in Kraaifontein who last week viciously assaulted his 82-year-old grandmother was postponed to 12 July for bail application.
Following his arrest last Wednesday night, Luvo Gqaza appeared in Kuils River Magistrates’ Court on Friday on charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and contraventions of the Older Persons Act.
The shocking incident that was recorded went viral on social media last week. On the video the man is seen slapping his grandmother across the face and over her head in the kitchen of her house.
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During the attack a pot of mealie porridge is knocked off the stove while the elderly woman falls to her knees as he continues to threaten her.
The South African Government News agency reported the grandmother had since been hospitalised at Karl Bremer Hospital for an ailment unrelated to the assault and declined to submit a statement, according to Kraaifontein police.
Investgation
The police’s initial investigations revealed that the incident occurred in June at the residence of the victim.
“The police were summoned to the scene, but it is said the family took the matter into their own hands and refused police assistance,” the police stated on its official Facebook page.
“The severity of the matter was realised when a video of the incident was circulating on the internet and, on this basis, the police intervened and opened a case docket on behalf of the victim. Crimes against women and children are on the top of the police’s priority list and the police will not turn a blind eye to any form of violence in this regard.”
Shocking
Chair of the Kraaifontein Community Policing Forum (CPF) Rob Bisset said this incident of elder abuse is heinous.
“The CPF views it in a very serious light and is calling for the harshest punishment to be issued in accordance with law,” he told TygerBurger on Friday morning.
“It is shocking to see our elderly citizens being attacked by their younger family members. They cannot defend themselves against the youth of today.”
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, the state will oppose Gqaza’s upcoming schedule 1 bail application.
