Pienaar serial rapist sentenced to 7 life terms and 83 years in prison
The rapist and his unknown accomplices had held their victims at gunpoint, took them to a nearby house, bushes or cemetery, raped them and robbed them of their belongings.
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, Mbombela, has convicted and sentenced Elvis Aaron Zulu (40), from Daantjie in Pienaar, to seven life terms and 83 years of direct imprisonment.
The provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecution Authority, Monica Nyuswa, said he was convicted on 22 counts: nine counts of rape, six counts of kidnapping, three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, three counts of pointing a firearm and one count of possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Zulu’s reign of terror in Pienaar lasted from January 2011 to November 2014.
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The convicted man would target his victims at gunpoint, take them to a nearby house or some bushes, and rape them. He would sometimes take his victims to a nearby graveyard, rape them and rob them of their belongings, such as cellphones and cash.
One of the victims was a minor when the incident happened, while three others were gang-raped by Zulu and his unknown co-perpetrators.
In one incident on January 30, 2011, a 38-year-old victim was on her way to the shop when the sentenced man emerged.
He struck up a conversation with her, and while talking, he grabbed her, forced her to a nearby abandoned house at gunpoint and raped her more than once. Zulu released her the following day and gave her some taxi fare to travel back home.
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Again, on November 2 that year, another victim was targeted by Zulu and his co-perpetrator in Msogwaba Cemetery. They held her at knifepoint and gunpoint. Zulu laid her on a grave and raped her while his accomplice held her at gunpoint.
Zulu’s raping spree came to light in November 2014, after he and his unknown accomplices had accosted another victim in Pienaar. They took her cellphone, dragged her to the nearest church, and took turns raping her.
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“The accused was arrested after one of the victims was able to identify him to the police.
Buccal swabs were taken and positively linked him with other rape cases. He pleaded not guilty in court and claimed consent from the victim who had identified him,” Nyuswa said.
She said the state advocate, Tshepo Mahash, led evidence of all the victims who had testified about how the incidents had occurred.
Evidence of DNA linking Zulu to the offences was also presented, and the state handed in a victim impact statement compiled by the victims and facilitated by a court preparation officer, Nomfundo Mokoena.
They detailed how they had suffered at the hands of the accused and his accomplices.
Judge Takalane Ratshivhumo told the court that the accused failed to show remorse to the victims.
The court found no substantial and compelling circumstances to justify deviation from the imposition of the prescribed minimum sentence.
It declared Zulu unfit to possess a firearm, ordered his name to be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders, and declared him unfit to work with children.
