Limpopo duo sentenced for kidnapping, rape of teenager
The 18-year-old victim was put though a horrific ordeal and the court found the two accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
LIMPOPO – Rape duo Murendeni Siliga (22) and Omphulusa Ramakuela (27), from Muledane village outside Thohoyandou, was recently sentenced to life in prison after they put an 18-year-old girl through a horrific ordeal in September 2017.
In addition to their life sentences, Siliga and Ramakuela were also sentenced to five years for kidnapping and three years for robbery.
These sentences will run concurrently, it was ruled in the Sibasa Regional Court on October 22.
The spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi told CV that the two men were arrested on September 9, three days after they kidnapped their victim.
On the day of the crime, Ramakuela met the victim and her boyfriend.
According to testimony in court, he then threatened the girl’s boyfriend and instructed him to leave, saying he was “allowed to date girls from the other side of the township”.
Ramakuele subsequently dragged the girl into nearby bushes, where he raped her and proceeded to call Siliga.
The girl was then taken to Siliga’s homestead, after Ramakuela took R7 from her to buy cigarettes.
The men took turns raping the girl throughout the night, threatening that she would be killed if she told anyone about her ordeal.
“During the trial, Ramakuela argued that he was in love with the victim and that the intercourse between the two was consensual, while Siliga alleged that his co-accused forced him to rape the victim. The court rejected both versions,” Malabi-Dzhangi told CV.
The accused’s so-called witness, who seemed to have known about the relationship Ramakuela claimed he had with the victim, never came to court to testify even though the defense was given several opportunities to put this person on the stand.
“The court found that the state has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted both the two accused.”
In aggravation of a harsher sentence, the public prosecutor, Steven Muavha argued that for a civilisation that upholds respect for women and their dignity, hardcore criminals who pounce on vulnerable members of society should be permanently removed from the community.
He also appealed to the court to consider the trauma suffered by the victim at the hands of her perpetrators.
The Director of Public Prosecution in Limpopo, Adv Ivy Thenga welcomed the sentence and applauded the state prosecutor for a successful prosecution.
The victim’s identity is withheld because of the nature of the crime.
