Limpopo: Double life sentence for uncle who raped his niece (12)

LIMPOPO – A 25-year-old man from Ga-Dikgale was sentenced to two life imprisonment terms for two counts of rape, as well as an additional eight years’ imprisonment for attempted rape.

The man, whose identity is withheld to protect the victim, reportedly raped his niece (who was 12 years old at the time of the first incident) on three occasions. 

According to the Director of Public Prosecutions’ Regional Spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, the man appeared in the Mankweng Regional Court yesterday.

“The first incident happened in December 2015 when the victim visited her grandmother during school holidays. The victim asked her uncle for money to buy snacks, and he called her to follow him to the bedroom to get the money. He locked the door, undressed her and raped her. He gave her an amount of R2,” she explained.

Malabi-Dzhangi said the second incident occurred in December 2016, when the victim was asleep in her room during the day.

“The man entered the room, locked the door, undressed her and raped her again. When he finished, he gave her R5. The third incident happened in late December 2017 when the victim was asleep in her room in the morning when she felt him touching her buttocks. She warned him that she will report him. He stopped and ordered her not to tell anyone,” she added.

Malabi-Dzhangi said the girl kept quiet about the incidents until she informed her friend in 2018, who persuaded her to report the matter to her mother.

The man pleaded not guilty to the charges, she added.

“The prosecutor, Magomothi Masehela, had to prove the cases to link the accused to the offence. A medical statement was handed in to corroborate the evidence of the doctor, who testified about the injuries the victim sustained throughout her ordeal. There was no DNA to link the suspect to the offences as the incidents were reported late,” Malabi-Dzhangi said.

Victim Impact Statements of the victim as well as that of her mother were handed to the court.

“The victim testified that she still has flashbacks from her ordeal. She does not trust men anymore and struggles to concentrate on her schoolwork. She has poor communication skills due to the trauma she suffered. She isolates herself from people because of a fear of being hurt again and feels that her family members do not love her anymore. She feels that her friends are judgmental towards her,” she explained.

Malabi-Dzhangi added that the victim’s mother testified that the relationship between their family members was torn apart.

“The victim’s school performance deteriorated and is now more reserved. The pre-sentence report of the uncle was also handed in. The probation officer recommended that he be sentenced to life imprisonment for the first two incidents as the victim was a minor and eight years for the third incident of attempted rape,” she added.

Magistrate Reynolds could not find any compelling circumstances to deviate from the minimum sentence and sentenced the accused to two life imprisonment terms for two counts of rape and eight years for attempted rape.