Man in court on 147 charges
Henry Hlahla (42) has appeared in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court after being charged with 147 counts, including sexual-related offences that include rape.
MBOMBELA – Hlahla appeared on February 12 and again yesterday. According to court papers, the accused committed a series of crimes in Naas, Nkomazi between 2010 and 2017.
However, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. His first offence dates from February 2010. He allegedly dragged his victim from Coco’s Bar to the nearby bush and raped her.
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In the same month, he allegedly assaulted and raped another woman and robbed her of her cellphone at knifepoint. In a separate incident in June 2012, he was allegedly part of a group of eight men who gang-raped a woman who came from a night vigil in Tonga.
The state said the accused accosted her from behind, grabbed her around the neck and raped her in the nearby bush. On the same night of the incident, the victim was asleep when she was woken by voices in her room.
The accused was with six to eight men, who gained entry by breaking the door. The accused and his co-perpetrators ordered the victim to undress.
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They proceeded to blindfold her with one of her clothing items and took turns raping her.
The accused came back and raped her again. He gained entry through the window and the victim woke up as the accused was strangling her from behind.
After the rape, the accused robbed her of her money, cellphone and fled the scene. These are among the rape charges which consist of the same modus operandi.
The state alleged that in respect of these incidences with the co-perpetrator, he acted with a common purpose. The accused remains in custody.
