eMalaheni men sentenced to life imprisonment for gang-raping former schoolmate

Siphosethu Maseko and Thabiso Wonder Matjie have been sentenced for the rape of a former schoolmate by the eMalahleni Regional Court in Mpumalanga.

The court found no considerable and compelling circumstances to diverge from the minimum sentence.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Regional Spokesperson Monica Nyuswa explained how state prosecutor Ellen Mafata motivated the prescribed minimum sentence by highlighting the scourge of gender-based violence in society.”

According to Nyuswa, Mafata based her arguments on the victim impact statement prepared by the court preparation officer Musa Mkhatshwa.

“In her statement, the victim said she was still in shock at what the accused did to her. She feels betrayed and depressed,” said Nyuswa

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Gang rape

In May 2018, the court heard how the victim was walking in Extension 7 eMalahleni Park when the two men approached her.

“They approached her from behind and blindfolded her with the scarf she was wearing. They started demanding money and a cell phone.”

When the victim could not provide the demanded items, the two accused dragged her into the bushes and “gang-raped her”.

“While in the process, the victim’s scarf fell below her eyes, and she was able to identify one accused that she attended with at primary school,” he said.

The other accused was identified by DNA tests.

Magistrate Combrink sentenced the pair to life imprisonment each.

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“The NPA welcomes the sentence and hopes that it will serve as a deterrent and address the scourge of gender-based violence,” Nyuswa said.

Lenient sentence for child rapist

In the Western Cape, a 63-year-old man was given a lenient sentence by the Hermanus Regional Court, granting him 20 years imprisonment for each rape count running concurrently.

The NPA Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the man confessed to raping two pre-teen girls left in his care by their parents between March and September 2021.

This was after the man had been living in a rental room owned by their parents for a year. The parents trusted the man to care for the girls as they went to work when the rape incidents occurred.

“He claims that he never hurt them physically, but he now realises that he hurt them mentally and emotionally,” said Ntabazalila.

Prosecutor Harold Engelbrecht argued that the abuse of the vulnerable was deserving of the minimum sentence.

“That gender-based violence was a scourge affecting children in South Africa’s communities,” he said.