FEARED DRUG DEALER SENTENCED TO FOUR LIFE TERMS
The Mdantsane Regional Court sentenced Monde Mzondi (36) to four life imprisonment terms for rape plus five years for sexual assault of two women who were aged 19 and 22, six years ago. The two victims who resided in the same village of Siviwe Location near Qumrha, knew Mzondi and at some stage before the commission of the crimes, he had approached them to sell dagga on his behalf, but they refused. On the afternoon of 06 March 2018, he lured the two women to his home under the pretext that they were fetching a bottle of brandy he had promised them earlier. Upon their arrival, he locked the door and forced the women to undress themselves completely naked. He then took the cell phone of one of them, took their pictures and threatened to circulate them on social media. Threatening them with a knife, he shoved the women into his bedroom where he repeatedly raped each, while placing the said knife on the edge of the bed. He raped them without using a condom, after which he forced them to wash their private parts with water that he mixed with a black powder that he told them would remove evidence of the rape. Not discouraged by his threats, the two complainants immediately informed their families of their ordeal, even though Mzondi had vowed to harm their families if they reported him.
A case was opened with the police and the two women were promptly taken to the Mdantsane Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) for medical and psychosocial assistance, and the accused was arrested. During trial, pleaded not guilty, claiming that both women were his casual sexual partners that he would occasionally pay after having sex with them. However, regional court prosecutor Phillip Phoofolo led the evidence of the two complainants and submitted medical reports and the DNA samples taken at the TCC. The court dismissed Mzondi’s defence as highly improbable. For sentencing, the prosecutor handed the victim impact statement, prepared by the court preparation officer (CPO), which revealed that the victims had an extreme fear of Mzondi who had taken advantage of their poor backgrounds and had also lost confidence in the criminal justice system because of the time it has taken for the case to be finalised.
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, commended the prosecutor, TCC staff, CPO and the investigating officer stating that all cases of sexual violence encroach on the rights to dignity and privacy of the victims as enshrined in our constitution hence the NPA aggressively prosecutes these cases against the most vulnerable of our society.
