Tembisa arts teacher sentenced to life for repeatedly raping pupil

A creative arts teacher from Tembisa, Gauteng, has been sentenced to five life terms for repeatedly raping a Grade 7 pupil between October and November 2019.

Bethuel Lesetja Makgetha, 50, raped the 13-year-old pupil multiple times, manipulating her into staying after school and threatening academic harm if she spoke out.

“Unbeknownst to the learner’s mother, who thought he was helping her daughter by escorting her home, Makgetha’s true intentions were sinister,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Gauteng regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane in a statement on Friday.

Teacher arrested after victim’s mom noticed changes

The truth of Makgetha’s behaviour eventually came out when the girl’s mother, a trained virginity tester, noticed changes in her daughter’s body, and she confronted her.

The truth led to the teacher’s arrest.

The victim was then examined at the Thuthuzela Care Centre at Tembisa Hospital, and she was also offered psychological help.

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“The court found the accused’s version of bare denial to be false and improbable, and that regional court prosecutor, Adele Erasmus, proved the case beyond any reasonable doubt on all charges preferred,” Mjonondwane said.

The Tembisa Magistrates’ Court sentenced Makgetha to five life sentences.

Mjonondwane said the sentence reflects the justice system’s seriousness in dealing with cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and marks the end of the culmination of years of investigative and prosecutorial work by Sergeant Jacky Baloyi and Erasmus.

Free State teacher raped boy at his home

In April, a 28-year-old teacher from the Free State was charged with raping a matric pupil at his home.

Free State NPA regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said that on the day of the incident, the teacher at Hentie Cilliers High School met the 17-year-old matric pupil in town at a butchery and invited him to his house.

“When they arrived at his house, the teacher raped the student. The incident was reported to the authorities after the student refused to attend school as his parents sought help,” Senokoatsane said.

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Additional reporting by Nicholas Zaal