LIFE AND 10 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPE AND KIDNAPPING

06 May 2025

LIFE AND 10 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPE AND KIDNAPPING

Nelspruit, Mpumalanga - The Nelspruit Sexual Offences Court convicted and sentenced a 63-year-old man to life and 10 years imprisonment for the rape and kidnapping of his lover (53). The accused and the victim were in a love relationship. Between 01 and 18 November 2018, the victim disappeared from her home at TV Trust at KaBokweni, and a missing person file was opened. Nine days after her disappearance, the victim managed to steal the accused’s phone and called her sister, telling her that she was locked up at the accused’s place and that she needed help. The police were alerted and went to the accused's place of residence. When they arrived,  the accused blocked them from entering his house, which resulted in the police breaking the door and finding the victim inside severely malnourished. The accused was subsequently arrested and charged.

In court, the accused pleaded not guilty and denied ever raping the victim. State Prosecutor Leana Jones presented compelling evidence of the victim, who told the court that the accused threatened to kill her should she report the abduction to anyone and testified that the accused repeatedly raped her and deprived her food, water and had to use a bucket kept in the room to relieve herself during the time of her captivity. J88, showing injuries, was also presented as part of the evidence. The court found the state witness reliable and rejected the accused’s version. The accused was convicted of rape and kidnapping.
 

In aggravation of the sentence, Prosecutor Jones argued that the accused’s actions will have a lasting effect on the victim’s health by causing her to re-live the horrifying incident, urging the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence. The magistrate found no substantial or compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment and sentenced the accused to life imprisonment for rape and the years’ imprisonment for kidnapping. The court ordered his name to be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Each of these successful prosecutions is the culmination of months and even years of painstaking investigative and prosecutorial work and exemplifying hundreds of similar cases prosecuted successfully daily. This sentence demonstrates the seriousness with which the criminal justice system addresses gender-based violence.

Issued by:

Monica Nyuswa
NPA Regional Spokesperson
DPP Mpumalanga
0130450625
0764855446
mnyuswa@npa.gov.za