Justice for Raymonde: Protesters oppose bail for rape accused Pregnolato
Cape Town - Community members and relatives of missing Mitchell’s Plain mother Raymonde Boltman gathered outside Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to demand that her estranged boyfriend, accused rapist Umir Pregnolato, remain behind bars.
Carrying placards, the group also submitted a petition opposing his bail application. Pregnolato, from Woodlands, is facing charges of allegedly raping a female relative in January.
The state alleges that the incident took place at a residence in Woodlands. It is believes the victim was also physically assaulted.
Pregnolato was Boltman’s boyfriend at the time of her disappearance in 2016. She vanished on April 20 after being seen off at a bus stop in Clocktower, Lentegeur, on her way back to work. She never arrived.
Boltman’s family has never given up hope finding answers. Her mother, Lillian, previously told the Cape Argus sister paper, the Weekend Argus she refused to declare her daughter deceased despite police suggesting it.
The family has repeatedly urged police to re-examine the cellphone records and CCTV footage and to press charges against Pregnolato, the last person believed to have seen Boltman.
Police searched his backyard in the past but reportedly found nothing new. Boltman’s sister Jihan Mohammad, said Pregnolato poses a danger to women and should not be granted bail.
“We as a Boltman family is against the bail of Umir, if he is capable of rape and we have always believed he is the main suspect in our sister’s disappearance,” she said.
“He was the last person who was in contact with my sister and saw her.
“If he gets bail, who says he will not do it again.
“He definitely has control issues and he will be a danger to any community.
“Whether the bail application says he cannot live in Mitchell’s Plain, he can be a danger to another community.”
Linda Jones, of the Mitchell’s Plain Community Policing Forum said they would be watching the matter and the call for the bail to be opposed.