Two men imprisoned after admitting to raping woman, slitting her throat

Two men have been slapped with hefty jail sentences after admitting to raping a 38-year-old woman in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Lindokuhle Mzimela, 25, and Khetha Prince Zulu, 19, appeared in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg this week and pleaded guilty to the charges of kidnapping, rape and murder.

Incident

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mzimela and Zulu raped the 38-year-old woman on 1 December last year after the pair had been drinking alcohol at a local tavern in Ngwelezane.

“When that tavern closed, they decided to visit another one and met the woman and her companion on the way. They planned to rob them of their cell phones and Mzimela produced a knife.

“The man who was with the woman ran away, leaving her behind,” KZN NPA spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said in a statement.

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Ramkisson-Kara said the men decided to rape the deceased after she informed them that she did not have a cellphone.

“They took her to a nearby abandoned structure where Mzimela asked her to undress. When she refused he stabbed her in her stomach and chest area until she removed her clothes and they both raped her.”

In his guilty plea, Mzimela said that he was afraid the victim might report them to the police, so he slit her throat.

“They waited for her to go still before they fled the scene,” Ramkisson-Kara continued.

The pair were then arrested a few days later.

Sentencing

On Wednesday, Mzimela was sentenced to life imprisonment each, on the charges of murder and rape, and five years on the charge of kidnapping.

The 25-year-old will serve effective life imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Zulu was sentenced to five years for kidnapping and 25 years for rape after the court considered his age and his remorse.

He will also serve an effective 25 years imprisonment.

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The NPA has since welcomed the swift finalisation of the case.

“[We] commend the work done by the prosecutor and the investigating team and hope it will send a deterrent message to perpetrators,” Ramkisson-Kara added.

In a victim impact statement handed to the court by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DDPP) Mbongeni Mthembu, the deceased’s sister described her sister as a friendly, loving mother and sister.

“Her death has left a big void in their lives and they are struggling to get over the pain of losing her.”

Crime stats

Last week, Police Minister Bheki Cele released the crime stats for the third quarter of 2022/2023.

The statistics cover the period from 1 October to 31 December 2022.

The figures show that over 7 500 people were murdered in the country during the quarter, representing an increase of 10.1%.

Even though sexual offences overall decreased by 25.4%, serious offences such as rape increased by 9.8%, while sexual assault increased by 4.1%.

Cele also revealed that more than 4 900 suspects were arrested for Gender-based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) related crimes, while 71 accused were sentenced to a combined 89 life sentences.

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