Sonto Radebe who lost her eye at the hands of her attacker received justice in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Friday, July 15 when her ex-boyfriend, Linda Makhanya was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing her multiple times, strangling and raping her, and stealing from her in 2017.
Makhanya was sentenced to 15 years on two counts of attempted murder, 10 years for rape, and three years for the theft of her cell phone.
Also read: Roodepoort Court hands down 20 year sentence to GBV perpetrator
Members from People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) showed their support for Radebe with a stand outside the court room, holding placards carrying messages against women abuse, and handing out pamphlets about rape and domestic violence to the public.
After breaking up with Makhanya in 2017 due to his abusive nature, Radebe moved out of his home.
However, he tracked her down and strangled her before raping her in her new place of residence.
When she opened a case she provided police with his address and photo, but instead of arresting him they told her to look for him and bring him to the police station.
A month later Makhanya went to Radebe’s room again and stabbed her twice in the left arm, twice in the right arm, in her head and eye.
When Makhanya committed these crimes he was on parole for the murder of his child’s mother.
Speaking about the impact of the violent attacks on her life, Radebe said in court she had been unable to get a driver’s licence due to her impaired vision, and she has to depend on others for transport.
“My body isn’t used to my prosthetic eye and my eye is often painful. I have to pay for consultations with the doctor myself and I’m on prescribed medication to deal with my nightmares. When I look at myself, I’m reminded of what happened,” said Radebe.
While she had hoped Makhanya would get a life sentence, she said the prosecutor had explained the different sentences for each crime and she was relieved that he had now been sentenced.
Radebe is just one of a large number of women in the country who have endured the trauma of severe physical abuse.
According to POWA’s communications manager Thandiwe McCloy, after Radebe was stabbed and lost her eye, she received counselling through POWA, stayed at a POWA shelter and received legal advice through the organisation’s legal department.
In fact, it was POWA that stated that her strangulation and stabbing should be changed from grievous bodily harm to attempted murder, which carries a much heftier sentence.
“We’re pleased with the outcome of the court case; we want to appreciate the bravery and openness of the complainant.
“We are happy that she was able to get closure and see the justice system at work, and that she is able to sleep at night knowing that this individual is incarcerated and will continue to be so for a lengthy time.
“We are happy that the justice system is willing to work with organisations to sensitise the court in terms of victims having to relive the experience for an undue period of time.
“This case took five years to finalise, which is an unreasonable amount of time, even with the backlogs in our courts.
“It is important that when granting prisoners parole, we carefully look into their mental state, their likelihood to reoffend, and if they are ready to be in a community as this is someone who committed the offence while on parole.
“We appreciate the magistrate noting that GBV is a scourge in our country and that a message has to be sent,” said POWA’s legal manager Naledi Kuali.
