SENTENCING a rapist convicted at the eSikhawini Regional Court last week, Magistrate T S Ngesi declared his concerns about the increase of female student rape victims at the University of Zululand (Unizulu).
In his statement he said that courts should set an example and issue heavy sentences, to prevent future perpetrators from committing the same crimes.
‘We have to change what people think about our courts. I am very concerned that most students come to the university to acquire education, however they get violated by criminals, leading them to leave the institution or worse,’ said the magistrate.
These concerns were highlighted during the trial of Manqoba Shandu who confessed to raping a 19-year-old female student earlier this year, and he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
Furthermore, a local deejay was charged with supposedly raping three students outside the university.
This raised questions about the safety of female students who rent cottages outside the university.
