A 24-year-old man was sentenced to four terms of life and 95 years imprisonment in the Ladysmith Regional Court  for the various rapes, robberies and kidnappings he committed in the Ezakheni area.

During  2012 to 2015 the accused preyed on women who were in the company of their boyfriends. He would kidnap the both of them and rape the woman while the boyfriend was forced to watch. He would then force the boyfriend to rape his girlfriend. The accused threatened his victims with a knife and stole their belongings.

He was eventually arrested when DNA test results linked him to the various offences. Regional Court Prosecutor Amelia Lieketseng used this same evidence to secure a conviction against the accused.

He was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for each of the four counts of rape, 15 years imprisonment for compelled rape, 10 years imprisonment for each of the two counts of kidnapping and 15 years imprisonment for each of the four counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The KZN Director of Public Prosecutions Adv. Moipone Noko welcomes the sentence. She said, “We hope that sentences such as this will assist in curbing the rate of sexual offences and assault in the province.”