SERIAL RAPIST SENTENCED TO 3 LIFE TERMS AND 85 YEARS
The Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni sentenced Vukile Mpeka (45) from Benoni to three life terms for three counts of rape, 85 years direct imprisonment for four counts of rape, 40 years direct imprisonment for five counts of kidnapping and 5 years direct imprisonment for theft. The court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, and the effective sentence is 3 life terms and 85 years of direct imprisonment. The court further added that his name be registered in the national register of sexual offenders and was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
From June 2011 to August 2011 at different occasions, Mfeka offered his victims a lift promising to take them to their destination but instead, took them to different locations in the Benoni area where he threatened them with a firearm, knife and subsequently rape them. He raped a total of 3 young girls, the youngest victim was a 14-year-old minor. After these incidents, Mfeza was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 8 years direct imprisonment for rape in 2012 on a separate matter and later released on parole in 2016. After his release, he resumed his modus operandi where he lured and raped four other women from July 2018 to December 2022. On 07 December 2022 Mfeka was arrested again at his place of residence after one of his victims opened a case against him and provided the police with a lotto ticket containing his details that she had found at his place of residence in Benoni where she was taken to and raped on 03 December 2022. After his arrest Mfeza was also linked to the rape of the three young girls he raped in 2011.
In court Mfeza pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him and through his legal representative he asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence because he takes care of his two minor children. However, in aggravation, state prosecutor David Molokomme said that Mfeza was convicted of very serious offences and that three of the complainants were minors during the commission of the offences. Moreover, Mfeza did not display any signs of remorse. Over and above that Adv Molokomme argued that Mfeza had a previous conviction of rape, and he did not learn from his previous mistakes but rather learnt how to do it better to avoid being arrested. Adv Molokomme also handed into Victim Impact Statements (VIS) facilitated by the Court Preparation Officer (CPO) Sibongile Jeanna Mtsweni, where two complainants expressed how the incidents affected them emotionally and psychologically.
When handing down the sentence, Judge Bhika agreed with the state and said that Mfeza’s behaviour after serving 4 years in prison shows that his chances of rehabilitation are very slim. Mfezas’ s prior conviction demonstrates his propensity for violence against women and the commission of sexual offences against them. The reduced period of imprisonment he served has not had the appropriate rehabilitative or deterrent effect. Therefore, the sentence given was appropriate.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomes the sentence and applauds the work of the investigating officer that led to the conviction and sentence. We hope the sentence will serve as a deterrent to those who might commit similar offences and also wish to assure the community that the NPA takes crimes of GBV very seriously.
