FOUR LIFE SENTENCES FOR RAPIST FATHER

25 JUNE 2025

FOUR LIFE SENTENCES FOR RAPIST FATHER

The Eshowe Regional Court has sentenced a 41-year-old man to four terms of life imprisonment for the rape of his four minor children in the Hluhluwe area. The offences took place between 2015 and 2019, and the children were aged between two and eight years old at the time.

The accused who was the biological father of the children, lived together with them and their mother. He raped them when their mother was not at home. The children testified that they would be playing outside, and the accused would call them into the house and rape them. He threatened them so that they would not report him. The matter was eventually reported by the children’s mother after she observed injuries on their genitals. The accused was arrested at their home in Hluhluwe.

In court he pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations against him. In the state’s case, the prosecutor, Kacey Pillay led the testimonies of the children, where three of them mentioned that they were raped on diverse occasions. Since the children’s mother died before the start of the trial, Ms Pillay made an application to the court in terms of Section 3(1)(c) of the Hearsay Evidence Act, to have the mother’s statements admitted into the record. An eyewitness’s testimony also corroborated the mother’s statement. The J88 medical records forms, confirming the sexual abuse on all the children was also handed in to the court.

In aggravation of sentence, the state handed in Victim Impact Statements compiled by the children and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer, Amanda Pretty Nxumalo. One child said that she used to be happy and played a lot but now she is sad. She said that she is untrusting of male persons. Another child said that the accused’s actions have negatively affected him, and he is angry all the time. One of the children said that he hates the accused for what he did to them.

The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for each count of rape. In addition, the court ordered that his name is entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomes the court's imposition of the life sentences for the rapes of these minor children. An aggravating factor is that the accused was their father who should have been their protector, instead he became their perpetrator. The NPA remains resolute in our pursuit of justice for victims of child abuse. We will continue to protect the rights and dignity of children.

Issued by:

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara
NPA Regional Spokesperson
KZN Division
0716700229