FIVE LIFE TERMS AND SIX YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPE AND MURDER
The Durban High Court has sentenced a 38-year-old man to five terms of life and an additional six years imprisonment for the repeated rape of his stepdaughter, the rape, assault, and attempted murder of his biological daughter, as well as the murder of his fiancé. Regarding the rape charges the accused pleaded guilty (Section 112) to raping his daughters (both step and biological). The state had to prove its case for the assault, attempted murder, and murder charges.
The accused started raping his stepdaughter in 2014, when she was 11 years old, and this continued until 2017 when his fiancé, the mother of the complainant, caught him behaving suspiciously. Concerned by what she saw, the mother confronted the complainant privately and asked her what was going on; and the complainant divulged all the details of the rapes. The mother then confronted the accused and ended their relationship. Some months later the accused reconciled with her, promising to never sexually abuse his stepdaughter again.
However, the accused continued to rape his stepdaughter and would get jealous when he saw her talking to boys. By this time, the complainant had started working and she sometimes arrived late from work to find the accused waiting for her at the bus stop. On one occasion prior to his fiancé’s murder, the accused slapped his stepdaughter around, accusing her of kissing someone. Her mother arrived at that time and the mother, and the accused got into a verbal altercation
On the night of 12 May 2022, the accused lured his fiancé (the complainant’s mother) outside the house under the pretext of wanting to resolve their issues, away from the children. When outside, the accused hit her with a blunt object on her head, neck, and chest, inflicting fatal wounds. He then rolled the body into some bushes. The accused then went back inside and removed their bed cover, using it to cover the body. He also placed some tree branches on top of the body to hide the crime.
Thereafter went back to the house and lured his 15-year-old biological out of the house under the pretext that he wanted her to help him look for the deceased. He stabbed her and raped her in the bushes nearby. He returned to the house and ordered his stepdaughter to come to his bedroom. There he raped her in the presence of his biological daughter. The accused fled the scene and was arrested in the Illovo area about three months later. The complainants were taken to the Chatsworth Thuthuzela Care Center (TCC) for medical and psycho-social assistance.
To prove the state’s case for the assault, attempted murder and murder charges, Advocate Thabani Buthelezi led eyewitness testimonies as well as circumstantial evidence. Buthelezi also submitted Victim Impact Statements compiled by the two complainants and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Thandeka Nadi Mofokeng. In their statements they described the terrible trauma they experienced, saying that the accused was placed in the position of trust as a parent. What was most painful to them was that he went on to kill their mother who was protecting them from his depraved acts.
The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for each count of rape and the murder. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment for assault and five years’ imprisonment for attempted murder. The sentences will run concurrently, and he remains unfit to possess a firearm.
The NPA commends the work done by the prosecution and other stakeholders in securing the conviction. The accused preyed on the vulnerabilities of his own children, and such conduct will not be tolerated by the courts. The NPA will continue to pursue justice for the victims of sexual offences and gender-based violence and femicide.
