NGCOBO J raped and why did you say that the accused had sexual intercourse with you. What did he do, did he take his finger and scratch you on your ear or what did he do, why do you say it is sexual intercourse? INTERPRETER: I think with the permission of the court of course, I do understand what the state wants to elicit from the witness, it is just that the Prosecutor does not have proper words which can be cut down to the level of the understanding of this. All the question the words that come, I saw a pitch high. The state does not have proper words which are curtailed to the level of the understanding of this, and I do understand what she is saying but I am just afraid to say what she did not say, because I end up being testifying.” [105] The child is then cross-examined with the sole purpose of discrediting the child. If the accused is not legally represented, the accused may conduct the crossexamination. The effect of this on the child can be terrifying especially where the accused is an adult relative of the child. The child may agree with questions put by the accused for fear of punishment if he or she disagrees. If the cross-examination is conducted by the legal representative, the child will be taken through his or her evidence in the most minute detail. The cross-examination may bring out facts that were so grotesque that the child could never have imagined being forced to recount them. The child will be taken to task for placing events, often months after they had occurred, out of sequence and for not being able to remember important details concerning the events. In this intimidating and bewildering atmosphere, the child complainant is required to relive and reveal sordid details of the horror that he or she went through. [106] And moreover, the child has been telling the same story to several adults by now, most of whom are strangers: first, to a relative to whom the report was first 56