LIMPOPO – Rialivhuwa Emanuel Lurale (35) has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of his then 15-year-old stepdaughter.
According to National Prosecuting Authority Limpopo spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, Lurale was sentenced for the ordeal that happened in December 2015.
“The victim told the court that at the time she was on her way to a spaza shop with her friend. The accused then reportedly approached them and promised to buy the victim clothes for Christmas,” she explained.
The victim then left with her stepfather, who at the time did not live with the victim’s mother. “He then took her to his village where he locked her in his shack for three days, and raped her. Lurale was arrested after the stepdaughter’s friend told the mother of the victim that her friend was taken by her stepdad. The matter was reported to the police who rescued her from his shack,” Malabi-Dzhangi added.
Lurale pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The state, represented by advocate Rabelani Mutsinda Makhera, had to prove the case to link Lurale as there was no DNA evidence.
A J88 was handed in to corroborate the evidence of the nurse who testified about the injuries the victim sustained throughout her ordeal. “A victim impact report of the complainant and her mother were handed in during sentencing. The victim, who is now 22 years old, during the trial told the court that she was traumatised after the incident which led to her failing her grades at school,” Malabi-Dzhangi explained.
She added that the victim said she became argumentative and experienced nightmares. “Her mother testified that she spent sleepless nights as her daughter cried a lot after the incident and failed her grades at school. She became absent-minded and sought counselling services. Social workers and psychologists helped her quite a lot, and her performance improved at school,” Malabi-Dzhangi added.
Lurale appeared in the Sibasa Regional Court today to hear his fate.
The pre-sentence report was read to the court and handed in as an exhibit, and probation officer Mpho Matodzi recommended that the accused must be sentenced to life imprisonment. The presiding officer, Maruping Mabitsela, agreed with the state and sentenced the accused to life imprisonment for the rape of a minor.
