The man accused of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Relebogile Segami appeared in the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley where he faces 19 charges.
THE MAN accused of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Relebogile Segami appeared in the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley earlier this week where he faces 19 charges.
Itumeleng Bendow Machabe is facing charges of rape, fraud, crimen injuria, attempted extortion, child pornography, attempted murder and murder.
The trial started on Wednesday following postponements on Monday and Tuesday due to the ill-health of the presiding judge.
Machabe pleaded not guilty to all 19 charges.
Forty witnesses are expected to testify during the trial.
The court heard that the accused had been using the surname Bendow and only recently changed his surname to Machabe at the Department of Home Affairs due to a change in his mother’s marital status.
Some of the cases that were either voluntarily withdrawn or scrapped from the court roll were reopened.
The victims were between the ages of 13 and 15 during the period of the alleged crimes – from 2013 to 2022.
The court also heard that Machabe allegedly committed the crimes throughout the Frances Baard District, where he used to lure his female victims using social media, under the false pretence that he was a young gay learner at several schools in Kimberley.
The case had to be postponed on Wednesday due to technical glitches after the first witness took the stand.
