LIFE AND 75 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR A RAPIST COUSIN

04 SEPTEMBER 2025

LIFE AND 75 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR A RAPIST COUSIN

The Empangeni Regional Court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to life imprisonment and 75 years imprisonment for the rape of his two cousins between August 2023 and January 2024. The offences took place in the Sokhulu area, and the complainants, who are sisters, were aged 16 and 19 years old at the time.

The accused moved in with the complainants’ family in January 2023, and he began raping the complainants on diverse occasions from August 2023. He threatened to kill the one complainant if she told anyone what he was doing. He propositioned the other (older) complainant to be his second wife, and she refused him. Thereafter, he raped her almost every second day.

Eventually, the case came to light when the older complainant ran away from home and tried to commit suicide. When her brothers approached her to find out the reasons for her actions, she told them what the accused was doing. Her sister, the other complainant, then said that she too was raped by the accused. The police were called, and the accused was arrested. The complainants were taken to the Thuthuzela Care Centre located at Ngwelezane.

In court, Prosecutor Edwina Du Plessis led the evidence of the two complainants, their mother and the doctor who attended to them. Further, Ms Du Plessis handed in Victim Impact Statements (VIS), compiled by the complainants and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Seneliso Sibanda. Both complainants said that the accused’s actions have traumatised them for life. They trusted him and treated him like a brother, and never expected him to hurt them so badly. While the accused was sentenced to a cumulative sentence of life and 75 years imprisonment, the court ordered that some sentences run concurrently. This resulted in the effective sentence of life and 25 years imprisonment. The accused was declared unfit to possess a firearm, and the court ordered his name to be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.

Curbing the scourge of gender-based violence and sexual offences is an organisational priority for the NPA. Together with our partners in the Justice Cluster, we are mandated to fight for justice on behalf of the victims of crime.

Issued by:

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara

NPA Regional Spokesperson

KZN Division

0716700229