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The charges against an Eastern Cape mother accused of stabbing a man to death and injuring two others after finding them raping her 27-year-old daughter have been withdrawn.
The woman appeared in the Lady Frere Magistrates’ Court, where her charges were formally withdrawn, National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said this morning.
Tyali said the senior public prosecutor made the decision not to prosecute the mother.
The woman was initially charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder.
“The docket was referred to the senior prosecutor and based on the evidence in the docket she declined to prosecute,” Tyali said.
The two men who allegedly raped her daughter are expected to appear in court later this week.
South Africans have been rallying behind the woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her daughter.
She was arrested at the beginning of September for murder and two counts of attempted murder. She was later released on R500 bail.
Her story prompted outrage on social media, with many congratulating the mom for protecting her family, or saying they would have done the same.
Read: R50K raised for ‘Lion Mama’ charged with stabbing daughter’s rapists
Cape Town resident Natalie Kendrick even started a fundraiser online to assist the “#lionmama” or “mother lioness” with legal and counselling fees.
This morning, the fundraiser had raised $9595 – more than R132 000.
Attorney Buhle Tonise is representing the mother pro bono.
She said the mother stays in a two-roomed house with her daughter, eight-year-old granddaughter and two others. They had to survive every month on a R380 child grant, she said.
“The community was collecting R100 per household to contribute to her legal costs. That is not proper. Where are they going to get the money like that?”
– News24
