THE rapist who robbed and assaulted a 14-year-old girl at eSikhaleni in December last year, has been jailed for life.
A co-accused was acquitted at eSikhawini Regional Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Well-known criminal Sanele ‘Mzamiya’ Chirinza was arrested after the girl reported the incident to her sister, who then informed the police.
During the trial she stated that on 16 December at around midnight while walking home with friends, Chirinza and his ‘friend’ robbed them of their cell phones and cash.
They then grabbed her, dragged her to nearby bushes and sexually assaulted her.
‘Mzambiya raped me twice while the other man was holding my legs. I couldn’t see the other person clearly.’
The DNA results from the semen found on the victim matched Chirinza’s, but the co-accused was cleared.
Chirinza was sentenced to 15 years on the robbery count and received a life sentence for the rape.
The victim’s family told the Zululand Observer they were satisfied with the sentence, however hoped that accused two would have received the same sentence.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonye Ngobeni, welcomed the conviction and sentence of Chirinza.
‘The ruthless and barbaric attacks on women by criminals will not be tolerated in our society and we welcome the maximum sentence meted out by the court. The sentence was preceded by intensive and diligent investigation by our officers from the Empangeni FCS Unit.’
