Benoni CBD resident Vukile Mpeka (45), who was paroled in 2016 after being sentenced to eight years in jail for a rape he committed in 2012, has been sentenced again.
This time it is three life terms and 85 years direct imprisonment for raping four young women. His youngest victim is a 14-year-old.
The sentence was handed down in the Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni on July 19 after he was found guilty of rape, kidnapping and theft. The sentences will run concurrently.
According to Gauteng regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Lumka Mahanjana, Mpeka raped four women between July 2018 and December 2022, using the same modus operandi he had previously.
Mpeka offered his victims a lift, promising to take them to their destination but instead would take them to several different locations in Benoni where he threatened them with a firearm or a knife before raping them.
He was arrested on December 7, 2022, at his place of residence after one of his victims provided the police with a Lotto ticket containing his details that she found at his residence when he took her there and raped her on December 3, 2022.
Mahanjana said after Mpeka’s arrest he was linked to the rape of three other young girls.
“Mpeka pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and through his legal representative asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence because he takes care of his two minor children.
“In aggravation of sentencing, State prosecutor David Molokomme said that Mpeka was convicted of very serious offences and that three of the complainants were minors during the commission of the offences. Moreover, Mpeka did not display any signs of remorse.”
Molokomme argued that Mpeka had a previous conviction of rape, and he did not learn from his previous mistakes but rather learnt how to do it better to avoid being arrested.
Victim impact statements were also handed in which two of the complainants expressed how the incidents had affected them emotionally and psychologically.
When handing down the sentence, Judge Rasigamani Bhika agreed with the state and said that Mpeka’s behaviour after serving four years in prison shows that his chances of rehabilitation are very slim.
The Director of Public Prosecutions’ Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomed the sentence and applauded the work of the investigating officer that led to this outcome.
The case was investigated by Detective Sergeant Kaizer Mbele.
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