THE trial of alleged UCT rapist Patrick Hlomane has been transferred to the Western Cape High Court.
The 43-year-old Khayelitsha man, who is believed to be behind attacks on two UCT students and a hiker, made a brief appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where his trial was transferred.
He was arrested on March 12, days after UCT offered a R100 000 reward for information about the suspect. He was found hiding on the slopes of Table Mountain. It is believed that he used various aliases to evade arrest.
Hlomane has been charged with rape, attempted rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, sexual assault and assault with the intent to commit grievous bodily harm.
The rape charge stems from an incident last November when he allegedly accosted a 23-year-old woman and raped her before robbing her.
In March, he allegedly threatened a runner along a cycling path at knifepoint and forced her into nearby bushes where she was raped.
Hlomane is to make his first high court appearance on October 14. – Fatima Schroeder