SERIAL RAPIST SENTENCED TO SIX LIFE SENTENCES AND 50 YEARS
19 JUNE 2025
SERIAL RAPIST SENTENCED TO SIX LIFE SENTENCES AND 50 YEARS
Cape Town, South Africa, The High Court of South Africa: Western Cape Division has sentenced serial rapist, Lungile Buhlungu, to six life terms and 50 years direct imprisonment. The court declared the unrepentant criminal unfit to possess a firearm in terms of section 103(1) of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 and that the Registrar of Firearms must be notified of the court’s decision. The court ordered the Department of Correctional Services to submit Buhlungu for psychological evaluation within six months of the order, and for him to attend any follow-up to determine whether he will benefit from any psychological intervention available to the department for his sexual behaviour, and if so, then to implement that intervention.
The sentence comes after Senior State Adv Esna Erasmus delicately handled an emotional trial which involved six women who were victims in the spate of rapes between 2014 and 2019. They testified in camera to protect their identity and avoid secondary victimisation. It is for that reason that the NPA does not name them in this statement. Her meticulous methods led to his conviction on six counts of rape, two counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, four counts of kidnapping, a count of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and a count of illegal possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for each rape count, five years for each count of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily hard, five years direct imprisonment for each count of kidnapping, 15 years direct imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances and five years direct imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm.
The first three women were raped in Delft on the evening of 11 July 2014 after the accused and his accomplice, who were both armed, confronted them. They forced them at gunpoint into the bushes and took turns raping them. At one stage, one of the victims attempted to fight, and one of the two men fired a shot in the air. They released them in the early hours of the next day. These victims testified about how negatively the incident had affected them.
The accused raped the fourth victim woman on the evening of 05 October 2017. She was attacked while walking home and woke up in the hospital with a wound on the right side of her head, and her right eye was red. She was found by a motorist lying naked at the local graveyard. She knows the accused as they stayed in the same informal settlement in Delft. She had to leave the province to escape the traumatic environment. Other two women were raped on the evening of 12 May 2018 when they were taken by a vehicle to the Delft graveyard and raped at gunpoint. The incident hurt them as their relationships have never been the same after their ordeal.
The 40-year-old father of six pleaded not guilty to all the charges the State preferred against him. He claimed that he was imprisoned at Pollsmoor Prison in 2014 and knew nothing about the allegations against him. He denied raping the victim of the 2017 incident as he insisted that they had sex by consent in his shack. He denied raping the two women in the evening of 2018 and suggested the sex was by consent. He also rejected robbing them of their cellphones. He told the court that he would want to meet the victims one day and tell them they were wrong as he had not raped them.
The accused was arrested in 2019 and was also linked to the rapes through DNA. After the trial, the court found that the State had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. It convicted the accused on 14 of the 20 charges the State preferred against him.
To strengthen the State’s case, Adv Erasmus led the evidence of Lieutenant Colonel Elmarie Alta Myburgh, an expert on sexual offences investigations, sexual and violence risk assessment, forensic sex crimes investigations, and the assessment and management of stalking. She testified that Buhlungu’s risk for future reoffending emanates from him being classified as a serial rapist, of threatening his victims with a firearm, of possessing an attitude that supports sexual violence, denial of the crimes, lacking remorse, personal history of violence, lacking insight, substance abuse, relationship problems and recidivism amongst serial sexual offenders. Myburgh testified that serial rapists do not stop raping women by themselves, and the only way that they will be stopped is by arrest.
Adv Erasmus argued that each victim received a life sentence on the respective dates atrocious crimes were committed against them. It was clear that the harrowing, degrading, and traumatic experience they endured had a profound, adverse emotional effect on all of them. The 2014 incidents happened 11 years ago, whilst the 2018 incidents happened 7 years ago, yet the complainants are still plagued with nightmares. They teared up and cried during the trial as they faced their rapist. Their bravery should be commended as this has led not only to the conviction of a serial rapist, but also to protecting the community and women from the spree of destruction by the accused.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Adv. Nicolette Bell applauded the investigation and prosecution teams for their tireless work to ensure justice for the victims. She also applauded the victims for coming out, testified in the trial no matter how difficult it was, faced their tormentor and ensured justice for themselves and their families.
Issued by:
Eric Ntabazalila
National Prosecuting Authority
Regional Communications Manager – Western Cape
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