Rape accused gets nine life sentences
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court of South Africa sentenced a 37-yearold convicted rapist to nine life imprisonment terms and 199 years.
John Mashele of the Kingdom of eSwatini was found guilty of multiple counts of rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, housebreaking with intent to commit murder and rape, murder, extortion and kidnapping.
According to evidence heard in court from June 20, 2012 to August 11, 2019, Mashele and his two accomplices, Lungelo Dlamini and Maxwell Mamba, would offer a lift to victims and when they were near their destination, they would pull off the road, hold them at gunpoint and rape them.
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Dlamini and Mamba pleaded guilty January 2021 and were sentenced to life imprisonment for these offences. Mashele was arrested after his description was given to the police and he was linked to the crimes through DNA. He denied the allegations and claimed that he had an identical twin. Prosecutor and senior state advocate, Vuyo Mkhulise, led with the evidence of several witnesses who identified Mashele as the culprit.
The court heard that in some incidents Mashele would demand cash from the victims’ families and rob them of their cell phones.
All these crimes were committed in the Lydenburg and KaBokweni districts. In June 2012, two of the victims were hiking from Lydenburg to Mbombela when Mashele and his co-perpetrators offered them a lift. On their way, they pulled off the gravel road, ordered them to undress, raped them and robbed them of their belongings.
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On August 11, 2019, two victims were on their way home when the three offered them a lift. On their way, the trio produced firearms, forced the victims out of the car and told them to take a walk. After reaching a certain place, one victim was ordered to call home and raise an amount of R20 000 to be released.
In another incident, Mashele broke into a house at KaBokweni where two of his victims were sleeping. He held them at gunpoint, instructed them to take off their clothes and raped them.
One of the victims was a 72-yearold pensioner whom Mashele strangled to death. Mashele was convicted on 31 counts and was sentenced to nine life terms and 199 years imprisonment by the Acting Judge Johanna Mthimunye.
He was declared unfit to possess a firearm and to work with children as part of the sentence. “The NPA welcomed the conviction and sentence as this would send a strong message to all perpetrators of gender-based violence to refrain from barbaric acts,” said Monica Nyuswa, the regional spokesperson for the Director of Public Prosecutions in Mpumalanga.
