COURT SENTENCES MAN TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPING A TEENAGER
Kagiso David Madito(28), has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Kuruman Regional Court, after having been convicted on one count of rape of a 14-year-old minor on 15 September 2017, in the village of Dithakong, near the town of Kuruman. On the day of the commission of the crime, the victim had walked from her home, to collect her phone that had been charging at her aunt’s place. On her way, back at around 20h00 in the evening, the accused grabbed her from behind and ordered her to undress. When she refused to undress, the accused took out a knife and started to scratch, stabbing her in the arms and thighs and thereafter raping her.
After the rape, the victim went home and reported the incident to her late mother. The complainant was able to tell her mother the person who had raped her, as she was able to identify the accused as someone she knew from around the village, with the aid of the light from the full moon on that evening. The matter was reported to the police and through diligent investigations, led by the Investigating Officer, the accused was arrested and pleaded not guilty to the charge. During the trial, the accused in his defence denied the rape as well as the assault, and he indicated that he and the complainant were in fact in a relationship, as they had been in constant communication even before the incident.
In aggravation of the sentence, the Regional Court Prosecutor Kekeletso Lekota maintained that the court should not deviate from the suitable sentence of a life sentence, as the accused had shown no remorse for raping a child and that it would be in the best interest of the community if he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The accused was found guilty on the evidence of the complainant alone, as the first reporter who was her mother had since passed on, however, the state had applied to have her statement be admitted into evidence in terms of section 3(1)(c) of the Hearsay of Evidence Amendment act, to corroborate the complainants’ version and satisfy the cautionary rule. The J88, the Photo Album, and the DNA results were also used by the state as corroborating evidence to that of the complainant. The court found that the version of the accused although possible was improbable and thus rejected resulting in the finding of him guilty, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the count of rape.
The conviction and sentence, confirm the commitment of the National Prosecuting Authority in the fight against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) to ensure that the citizenry can continue to live in freedom and security within their communities.
