FOUR LIFE TERMS AND 10 YEARS FOR SERIAL RAPIST
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court convicted and sentenced Gift Mnisi (41), from Naas Trust in the district of Nkomazi to 4 life terms and an additional 10 years imprisonment for the rapes he committed in Tonga between the period 2010 and 2015. He targeted young victims under the age of sixteen and nineteen years he found on the road. He would gage them and move them to a secluded place where there is an abandoned house and rape them. He further threatened to kill them should they report their ordeal. Two of his victims sustained grievous bodily harm because of him stabbing them to subdue them. The accused was unknown to all the victims. After the ordeal, the victims were examined at Tonga Hospital. Several years later the accused was arrested after one victim identified him in Primrose, Gauteng. Upon his arrest at Primrose, buccal samples were taken for DNA and linked him to the rapes committed in Tonga.
In court, Mnisi pleaded guilty and told the court that he is a changed man and regrets what he did. In addressing the court, State Prosecutor Mata Zwelethu informed the court that the accused had no options but to plead guilty and his guilty plea is not a sign of remorse. He said the accused must be removed from society as he poses a threat to females in our society. Victim impact statements compiled by the victims facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Nomfundo Mokoena in which the victims detailed their pain caused by the accused were read into the record. Judge Takalani Ratshivbumo rejected the accused’s assertion that he is a changed man and consequently found no substantial and compelling reasons to deviate from the ordained minimum sentences. He sentenced the accused to four life terms and an additional 10 years imprisonment. The court ordered Mnisi’s name to be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders, he was declared unfit to work with children and unsuitable to possess a firearm.
The Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Sonja Ntuli welcomes the sentence and commends the sterling work of the prosecution and the investigating Officer.” This case highlights the importance of DNA collections and its role in solving rape cases”.
