THE A-level pupil who had reported MDC-Alliance Member of Parliament for Magwegwe, Mr Anele Ndebele, for rape, has withdrawn the charges, but maintained that she was having an affair with the legislator.

She withdrew the charges last Thursday, after filing an affidavit at Kezi Police Station.

In the affidavit the girl (19) stated that she had made false charges against Mr Ndebele, saying she was under duress, as she feared a backlash from her parents.
The charges, are, however, yet to be formally dropped in a court of law in Kezi.

“I wish to withdraw a fake report I filed against Anele Ndebele on Monday 14 October. I claimed that he raped me when in actual fact I had an affair with Anele sometime during the festive season and I had consensual sex with him then (sic) the affair ended in February this year, after Anele discovered that I was still at school,” she wrote in the affidavit.

She said she framed him thinking that her parents would call Mr Ndebele to discuss the matter, since they were close.

“I framed him thinking that my parents would call him and discuss the whole matter since Anele worked with my father sometime back.

“Unfortunately, my father was terribly infuriated with the lie to the point that I ended up agreeing to file a police report on rape,” she said.

She said she decided to come clean, after she realised the gravity of the matter and felt guilty.

“On Tuesday 15 October I told my parents the truth, as I was feeling guilty about the lie. I last communicated with the person responsible for my pregnancy in June. My parents are willing to support me and we will handle it as a family,” she said.

Initially the girl had claimed that Mr Ndebele raped her on two occasions, with the first incident occurring in his car, after he had offered her a lift to school. The second incident allegedly occurred at his homestead near the school, where he reportedly raped her several times.

The alleged rape reportedly occurred from some time in April and May this year. A girl’s relative told SundayNews that the girl decided to come clean after realising the gravity of the case, after it was published in the newspapers.

“The case has been withdrawn but it is yet to be formally dropped in a court of law. She claimed she was raped yet she knew that she had a boyfriend who had impregnated her,” he said.

He said the girl revealed to them that she had lied to Mr Ndebele during the course of their alleged illicit relationship, where she would allegedly masquerade as a student teacher at the school she attends.