Pretoria - A girl, aged 11, took the stand in the high court here to testify against an alleged ruthless serial rapist and killer who, for more than a year, terrorised communities from eMalahleni and Pretoria North to Soweto.
The girl is alleged to have been only one of Thulani Happy Dhlakute's many victims.
She testified, in camera and via an intermediary, from a room next to the courtroom where her alleged attacker sat in the dock.
The State claimed that apart from strangling one of his rape victims to death with shoelaces, he dragged another behind his vehicle after allegedly raping her several times. He tied a rope around her neck and dragged her behind his truck until she was unconscious. She was left for dead, the State claimed, but she managed to survive.
In some cases he raped two victims, the one after the other.
The neat and clean shaven Dhlakute on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 28 charges in the high court. The charges include 12 of rape, one of murder, two of attempted murder and several charges of robbery.
The alleged series of crimes started in November 2013 and ended in December the following year.
In a deep voice, Dhlakute denied any knowledge of the crimes, but he admitted the various medical reports detailing the injuries the women had suffered. He also admitted that during his arrest, a jacket of one of the alleged victims was found in his possession, and the bank card of another.
The first victim hitch-hiked along the N4 highway in November 2013, when the accused allegedly picked her up in his truck and raped her. She was also robbed and it is claimed Dhlakute tried to strangle her with a rope.
The 11-year-old was allegedly the next victim a few months later. It is claimed that the accused entered the house of her aunt where she stayed and tied a towel around her neck before raping her.
The other incidents occurred days apart mostly with the same modus operandi, whereby the accused gave women a lift in his truck. Some were raped repeatedly, some had to also perform sexual acts on him and all were tied up with rope or cable ties.
On one occasion, the accused allegedly raped a woman several times on the front seat of his vehicle after he gave her a lift. He then allegedly tied her up and covered her face, before he dumped her on the back seat.
He then stopped along the road and gave another woman a lift. She was tied up before she was raped and robbed.
It is claimed that Dhlakute then forced both his victims to perform sexual acts on him.
Afterwards he allegedly tied the legs of the women together with cable ties and blindfolded them, before he pushed them out of the vehicle.
It is claimed that Dhlakute robbed all his victims mostly of cash and cellphones.
The case is proceeding.
Pretoria News