Man dies in holding cell after pleading guilty to 14 charges of rape

A 35-year-old man collapsed and died in a holding cell at the Ga-Rankuwa Regional Court after pleading guilty to 14 charges of rape and 11 of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

According to NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame, Johannes Jojo Shabangu fell ill and collapsed in a holding cell, while the court was on recess.

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This was after Judge Andre Peterson received his guilty plea statement and subsequently finding him guilty in all charges, in accordance to the guilty plea.

The case was set for Victim Impact Statements to be read in court before sentencing could be imposed, but it was rolled over to Thursday for Shabangu to receive medical attention, said Mamothame.

It then emerged in court that Shabangu had been declared dead by the paramedics and a declaration certificate was presented to Judge Peterson.

He then declared proceedings as finalised and ordered for the death certificate to be filed with the registrar of the High Court of South; North West Division.

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He further ordered for an inquest docket to be registered, to determine the cause of death.

Shabangu’s crimes

According to the NPA, Shabangu and his accomplices raped and robbed several women of their belongings between July 2012 and December 2019.

Evidence contained in the indictment indicated that in some instances, Shabangu and his accomplices, would confront couples coming from places of leisure in the evenings, threaten them with a firearm, beat up the boyfriends, rob them of their belongings and subsequently take turns to rape the female victims.

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In other instances, they would break into homes and apply the same modus operandi.

Shabangu and his accomplices would also accost a group of women and rob them before picking on one of them to rape.

The youngest of their victim was 14 years old and her ordeal took place in June 2015.

In his guilty plea statement, which was read by his attorney, he took responsibility for all the charges he was facing and asked for forgiveness to his victims.

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