LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPIST

01 JULY 2025

LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPIST

The Mtubatuba Regional Court has sentenced a 26-year-old man to life imprisonment for the rape of his minor cousin between 2019 and 2020. The incidents took place in the Hlabisa area, and the complainant was seven years old at the time.

The complainant lived with her aunts and cousins because her parents worked in another area. During this time, the complainant was raped twice, and on both occasions, the accused threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it. Then in 2023, the complainant went to live with her parents in Ngwelezane. On one evening, her mother asked her and her siblings if they wanted to participate in the upcoming reed dance, where they would sing and dance and participate in virginity testing. The complainant then confided in her mother that she could not participate as she was raped by her cousin and was therefore no longer a virgin.

The complainant was taken to the Ngwelezane Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), and upon examination, the doctor’s findings were in keeping with what the complainant had claimed. The matter was reported to the police. The accused became aware that the police were looking for him, and he fled the Hlabisa area. He was eventually arrested in Vryheid in 2024.

On behalf of the state, Prosecutor Phumlani Thembalethu Khoza led the testimonies of the complainant, the first report (her mother), and the doctor who examined her. In aggravation of the sentence, Khoza handed in a Victim Impact Statement (VIS) which was facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Sthembile Cebekhulu and compiled by the complainant's mother.

In her statement, the mother said that she had trusted the accused and considered him to be one of her children. She said that his actions are horrific and unexplainable. She said that they will never fully heal from the trauma of what has happened, and that the accused should be removed from her family and society.

The accused was sentenced accordingly, and the court declared him unfit to possess a firearm. Further, the court ordered that his name be entered into the National Child Protection Register for Sex Offenders.

The NPA is committed to fighting the scourge of sexual offences and child abuse. We hope that the life sentence meted out in this case bears testimony to our commitment.

Issued by:

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara
NPA Regional Spokesperson
KZN Division
0716700229