Horrific details of the murder scene of 12-year-old Sibusiso Dakuse was revealed at the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, as the State pathologist confirmed the boy was raped.
The long-awaited trial of sports coach Marvin Minnaar commenced this week nearly two years after Sibusiso’s murder in Hout Bay.
The Grade 7 pupil from Sentinel Primary was last seen by his ouma at their home in Imizamo Yethu on February 26, 2020.
It is believed that Minnaar was the last person seen with Sibusiso as his family searched frantically and filed a missing person’s report.
Two days after his disappearance, his body was found by Hout Bay cops in a bush near Manchester Street.
Minnaar has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape and murder.
On Tuesday, pathologist Bronwyn Inglis took the stand and described the scene where she found Sibusiso’s naked body lying face down amid thick reeds.
She was told by a police officer that cops had found pieces of clothing and toilet paper at the scene, which had faeces on it, and that was taken into evidence before she arrived.
“We found the completely naked body of a male juvenile face down on the stomach and the arms slightly under the stomach. The anus appeared dilated,” Inglis said.
Sibusiso’s body was taken to Salt River Mortuary where Inglis performed an autopsy days later and determined the cause of death was ligature strangulation.
She said the young boy had died in the position he was found. In her post-mortem report, she listed more than 20 abrasions across his body which she explained could have been caused during a struggle on the dry reeds and twigs found at the scene. Inglis said it appears Sibusiso was strangled with a piece of thin material.
DNA swabs were taken from his pelvic area and blood was found under the foreskin of his penis, but could not tell where the injury came from.
Inglis explained that during a rectal examination, an internal bruise was found which proved that there was penetration and that the child had been raped. The trial continues.