RAPIST SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS DIRECT IMPRISONMENT

02 JUNE 2025

RAPIST SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS DIRECT IMPRISONMENT

Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, The Plettenberg Bay Regional Court has sentenced rapist, Siyamcela Yali to 15 years direct imprisonment after he grabbed his ex-girlfriend off the street, dragged her to the bushes and repeatedly raped and beat her up for six hours. Regional court prosecutor Johannes Marx proved that on the evening of 04 December 2020, the 29-year-old victim was on her way to meet with friends in KwaNokuthula, Plettenberg Bay, when the accused accosted her. They had a romantic relationship which ended 8 years ago. On her way to her friends, she briefly chatted to her homeboy from the Eastern Cape, who asked if she had noticed the accused following her. She told him she did not know what he wanted from her.

AS she left her boyfriend’s house, she noticed the accused following her, and he enquired where his child was. She informed him that he was not the father of her child. He grabbed and dragged her down a footpath into the bushes. He took out a knife and threatened to stab her if she made any noise. He instructed her to undress and started to hit her with a stick. She complied with his instruction as she feared him. He then took off his pants and raped her. The ordeal lasted from midnight until 6 o’clock the next morning. During this time, he would take breaks, smoke, and rape her again.

He also ordered her to dig a hole in the ground so that she could feel the pain he felt when she did not bring his child to him. At dawn, she heard the voices of two men approaching, and one of them was Lindokuhle Maziko, who came to them and enquired what was going on. She reported to him that the accused was raping her.

The State called five witnesses to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and Maziko was one of them. Maziko testified that he used to be friends with the accused. On the morning of 05 December 2020, he was on his way to Phase 1, KwaNokuthula, following a footpath through the bushes, when he heard the screams of a woman. As he got closer, he recognised the accused and the victim. She was naked, and he had a stick in his hand, which he used to beat the victim with. She was crying. He grabbed the stick from the accused, who then took out a knife, and he lost the knife. He picked up the knife and stabbed the accused in his shoulder. The victim tied her t-shirt around her waist and fled the scene. He stabbed the accused only once.

The victim reported her six-hour ordeal to her homeboy, who then took her to her sister’s house to report the incident. They later went to the police station to report the rape.

They found the accused at the police station opening a case of robbery. She pointed him out as her rapist. During the trial, the accused denied raping the victim and claimed she and Maziko were framing him. He claimed that they took his cellphone, cigarettes, two mandrax tablets and R720 from his pants pockets. Marx bunked the accused’s version, and the court convicted him on the preferred count of rape. The court sentenced him to 15 years ' direct imprisonment.
The State welcomes the sentence handed down by the court and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to confronting and eradicating gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). This outcome sends a strong message that our justice system will not tolerate such brutal and senseless acts. We are intensifying our efforts across the criminal justice value chain to ensure that perpetrators of these heinous crimes are swiftly brought to book and receive sentences that truly reflect the severity of their offences.

We remain resolute in our pursuit of a society where all individuals, especially women and children, can live free from fear, violence, and oppression. The State will continue to strengthen investigative and prosecutorial capacity, invest in victim-support mechanisms, and work in partnership with civil society to break the cycle of GBVF. Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done, and we are committed to restoring public confidence in the system through decisive action and unwavering accountability.

Issued by:

Eric Ntabazalila
National Prosecuting Authority
Regional Communications Manager – Western Cape
Tel: (021) 487 7308
Mobile: 073 062 1222