Nelson Mandela's grandson has been charged for raping a 15-year-old girl inside a bar bathroom in South Africa. Twenty-four-year-old Mbuso Mandela appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday. He will be given a formal bail hearing on Friday and will stay in police custody until then, according to the New York Daily News.
Police reports say that Mandela assaulted the minor on Friday while eating at a known restaurant in Johannesburg. The young girl was with her friends and having dinner at the time when she excused herself and went to the bathroom. She was then allegedly attacked by Mandela inside.
The police spokesperson, Brigadier Mashadi Selepe, said, "He grabbed her and raped her inside one of the toilets."
"According to the complainant, it happened on Aug. 7," she said, adding, "It was reported to the police on Aug. 14."
The owner of Mammas Shebeen, Yaw Dwomoh, said that he was not interviewed by the police yet. "We would cooperate, we have eight cameras in the restaurant, but the problem is that they only hold 120 hours, so by now they have been erased," he said, according to South Africa's Times Live.
The bodyguard of Winnie Madikizela- Mandela, ex-wife of the Nobel Peace Prize awardee, tried to hamper the investigation of the incident. "That was never brought to our attention nor reported," Selepe said.
The spokesperson said that Mbuso Mandela should not receive any special treatment from the authorities, saying "All the rights of suspects are upheld during their investigation and lawful custody," The Guardian reported.
The spokesman of the family of the young girl was not pleased with how the Mandelas are treating the alleged victim's family, according to Daily Mail. "Just because they have a famous surname, they think they can get away with crime... The girl is young and doesn't even drink," he said.
