Parents of a 26-year-old rape victim were present when Moses Mokale Legodi, 36, was found guilty of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Lagodi looked nervous and anxious in the Randfontein Regional Court 2 last week (Thursday 20 November) as he waited for Judge A Mahlongeni to pass sentence.
A woman living in Mohlakeng opened case of rape against Legodi. The woman testified in court that she had not known the accused before the incident. The woman was at a club with a friend on 23 December 2012 until about 2am. They needed a lift home and her friend suggested they ask Legodi to take them. As the woman got onto the back of Legodi’s car, her friend asked them to wait a few minutes while he emptied his bladder around a corner.
Lagodi didn’t wait for her friend though and drove off with the woman. Lagodi produced a firearm and told her to be quiet when she started protesting. He took the woman to the Finsbury industrial area where he raped her twice in an open veldt. Lagodi then took her to his shack in Mohlakeng where he raped her again.
During the trial the woman testified that Legodi threatened her with a gun and beat her up, causing permanent damage to the cornea of her eye. Medical examinations performed after the incident also pointed to rape and assault, and were presented as evidence in court.
Legodi first pleaded not guilty on the rape charges, stating that he had nothing to do with the incident but changed his story after Adél Britz, prosecutor for the regional court, had presented the evidence. According to Legodi’s revised statement, he and the victim had consensual sex once. Judge Mahlongeni pointed out that Lagodi contradicted himself throughout the trial and also added that he regarded the victim as a reliable witness. He also pointed out that Legodi showed no remorse.
Before sentencing Judge Mahlongeni said the court sees rape as an appalling act and that the rapist gains nothing and just inflicts horrible suffering on the victim and their family. He added that rape threatens every woman in South Africa and occurs far too frequently, aggravating the spread of HIV/Aids.
Lagodi received a life sentence on the first count of rape, four years for assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and five years for pointing a firearm. The sentences are to run concurrently.
