MAN SENTENCED FOR RAPING HIS GIRLFRIEND’S DAUGHTER
The Mthatha Regional Court has sentenced Sakhiwo Mdondile (35), to an effective imprisonment of 40 years, for raping his girlfriend’s minor daughter. The court convicted and sentenced him to 20 years on each of the counts of three counts of rape, and three months on a count of common assault. It ordered the two life and 20-year sentences to run concurrently, and the common assault sentence to run concurrently with another 20 years term for rape.
In September 2017, Mdondile and the mother of the rape victim were in a romantic relationship and stayed together in a one-roomed structure in Tabase Area, in the district of Mthatha. The child, who was 12 years old, slept on the floor with her younger sibling, while the couple slept on the bed. On the morning of the first incident, the mother left the boyfriend with the children when she went to fetch medication from the clinic. Mdondile instructed the older child to come and sleep on the bed and proceeded to rape her while the younger child was fast asleep on the floor. Later that day, before the mother returned from the clinic, he raped the victim again after sending the younger child to go buy salt at a nearby shop.
The victim did not report the incident to her mother because Mdondile had threatened to kill her with a knife if she told anyone about the rape. In October 2017, when the couple had broken up and the mother moved out with her children, Mdondile fetched the child from school and raped her that evening and in the morning. The mother looked for her ex-boyfriend and the victim for two days but could not find them. On the third day, Mdondile and the child arrived at her mother’s homestead and when she questioned him, he assaulted her in the presence of the children and relatives. The community members intervened, and he left the premises.
Mdondile was arrested on 22 October 2017, a few days after the incident of assault when the victim ultimately divulged that she had been raped. During the trial, Mdondile pleaded not guilty and attempted to portray the mother as a negligent parent. Prosecutor Carol Fuzile led evidence that convinced the court otherwise and prayed for the imposition of a life imprisonment sentence because the rapist was not remorseful and had taken advantage of the victim who considered him as her father. The prosecutor submitted a Victim Impact Statement, compiled by Court Preparation Officer, Zanele Qunta, which described how the victim was fearful of Mdondile who had been physically abusive to her mother while they stayed together.
The court, however, considered the length of incarceration since his arrest as a mitigating factor and deviated from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
Welcoming the sentence, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, commended the prosecutor and the investigating officer Nomabhelu Ngqunge for their persistence in securing the conviction and sentence, under trying circumstances that threatened the finalization of the case.
