The Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court handed down the sentence of two convicted rapists on April 25.
The crime dates back to Christmas Day in 2018 when Kabelo Kadile and Paballo Kgapane encountered their victim near the house of her friend. The woman had arrived to visit her friend but found that nobody was home, with Kadile and Kgapane offering to give her a lift to where her friend was.
While on route, the men pulled a knife on her, forcing her to undress, then taking turns at raping her.
In addition to the rape charge, the men were convicted of attempted murder as upon concluding their violent sexual assault, they repeatedly stabbed the woman. During the trial, the court heard how the accused had stabbed her repeatedly before waiting to see if she was dead. Her agony continued as upon realising their victim was still alive, they inflicted further stab wounds. A doctor testified that she had suffered 21 in total.
Kadile and Kgapane then left the woman for dead, with the victim revealing in her testimony how she pretended to be dead in an attempt to deceive her attackers. A passer-by would later discover the victim, rushing her to hospital in a critical condition. The pair were arrested two days later when Kgapane was found to have a blood-stained T-shirt that was described in the victim’s police report.
The court heard how a blood-stained knife was also found at Kgapane’s home. State prosecutor Paseka Temeki told the National Prosecuting Authority how there was not enough DNA from the sexual kit to make comparisons but that he requested the investigator to obtain comparisons from the T-shirt and knife to be compared to that of the victim.
“On insistence and in the middle of the trial I managed to get positive results,” elaborated Temeki
Throughout the court proceedings, a social worker accompanied the victim to court. She testified how the incident had left her with a deep fear of men, and self-perception problems. Bringing down the gavel, Magistrate Delize Smith sentenced Kadile and Kgapane to life imprisonment for the count of rape, and an additional 15 years for attempted murder.
