The dawn of the new year heralded only darkness for two grandmothers who were raped.
On January 2, an 82-year-old woman was raped in the Northern Cape and a 73-year-old suffered the same fate in Limpopo.
The attacks came in the wake of a spate of attacks on the elderly in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.
Yesterday, Northern Cape police spokesman Lieutenant Donald Mdhluli said a 49-year-old man had appeared in the Galeshewe Magistrate's Court for allegedly raping the 82-year-old grandmother on Wednesday last week.
The case was postponed to January 16.
Constable Moses Molepo, police spokesman for the Mankweng area in Limpopo, said the search was still on for the man who raped the 73-year-old at her home.
He said that last year, a man had been linked to the rape of three pensioners aged 60, 65 and 93.
Another man was to appear in court next month for the rape of a 75-year-old woman, Molepo said.
Last year, two women, aged 94 and 82, were raped in a village in KwaZulu-Natal.
Zubeda Dangor, executive director for the Nisaa Institute for Women's Development, said it believed rape of the elderly was on the increase.
Whether it is an older or younger woman, a child . why is it that we do not take a stand?" she said.
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