Man in court on 62 counts including rape, kidnapping, murder and robbery

The trial of a 29-year-old man facing 62 counts relating to various charges including 19 counts of rape, was postponed on Wednesday after the interpreter fell ill.

One of the rape victims is a 12-year-old girl.

He is also facing 10 counts of kidnapping and nine counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Sibusiso Ndlovu’s trial began on Tuesday in the Gauteng High Court, sitting in Palm Ridge, according to National Prosecuting Authority Gauteng spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.

He is also accused of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, housebreaking and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Ndlovu has pleaded not guilty to all 62 counts which span the course of a year, between 2015 and 2016.

According to court papers, Ndlovu was not alone in allegedly carrying out the crimes.

In some instances, his accomplices were purportedly implicated through common purpose, however, the specifics of this are unknown to the State.

“Precisely where, when and in what manner the common purpose was formed and/or who all the parties thereto were, are at present unknown to the State,” court papers said.

“Where one of the accused was not the physical perpetrator, he associated himself with the acts or omissions committed by the other accused and shared his attention to commit the crimes.”

Ndlovu has also been linked to the crimes after his DNA was taken from the various victims.

One of them was a 12-year-old girl who both Ndlovu and his accomplice allegedly raped when, armed with a gun, they robbed a house in Boksburg.

This seems to have been a pattern; Ndlovu and a co-perpetrator would allegedly break into houses, rob it of its contents and rape the women who live there. In one instance, they allegedly shot and killed a woman after raping her.

On October 29, 2015, Ndlovu and an accomplice allegedly broke into a house in Germiston and demanded money from a woman living there.

When she could not meet their demands, they allegedly forced her to the main house on the property so that she could request for the door be opened for her.

They allegedly proceeded to rob the house after which, according to court papers, they “plugged the iron in and burned [another] complainant … with the hot iron on his foot” and raped the two women living in the house.

Ndlovu allegedly also forced his victims to nearby fields or parks where he and a co-perpetrator took turns raping them.

It is unclear when the trial will resume.

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