Black South African cricketer on rape charge (15 January 1999)
SOUTH AFRICA'S first black national cricketer, Makhaya Ntini, will be charged with rape, police said yesterday
15-Jan-1999
15 January 1999
Black South African cricketer on rape charge
By Anton La Guardia in Johannesburg
SOUTH AFRICA'S first black national cricketer, Makhaya Ntini,
will be charged with rape, police said yesterday.
The announcement is an embarrassing blow to the nation's attempts
to redress the racial balance of white-dominated sports such as
rugby and cricket. Police said the fast bowler would appear in
court to face charges that he raped a 21-year-old student from
East London after giving her a lift in his car.
The decision was announced by Les Roberts, the Eastern Cape
director of public prosecutions, who issued an order for Ntini's
name not to be released. He was identified by the East London
newspaper, the Daily Dispatch, yesterday.
For weeks, the sports minister, Steve Tshwete, has been
criticising South Africa's cricket and rugby selectors for
choosing teams that are too "lily-white". Ntini, 21, was a
trailblazer as the cricket team's first black African - as
opposed to mixed-race "Coloured". He played in South Africa's
tours to Australia and England last year. But he was dropped from
the team that has beaten the West Indies in four Test matches
during the current tour of South Africa.
Ali Bacher, the managing director of the United Cricket Board,
declined to comment yesterday. When the allegations of rape
surfaced last month, Mr Bacher said he believed Ntini had been
"framed". He said: "Even if he is charged, he will be available
for selection because a person is presumed innocent until proven
guilty."
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)