Johannesburg - “I’m glad he’ll never get to see the outside world again.”
So said the mother of one of the many women raped by serial rapist cop Mokolo Molekoa.
The former Randburg constable was sentenced to five life terms on Friday for raping 16 women and a further 294 years for crimes including kidnapping, theft, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
“He took away my daughter’s dignity and robbed her life,” said Moipone Kooma.
Almost two years ago the Soweto woman received a disturbing late-night call from her daughter Malebo, a call that brought tears to her eyes.
“Mama, mama… I’ve been raped,” Malebo told her on the night she called from Midrand.
Her daughter was one of the women raped by Molekoa between March 2011 and June 2012, when he was a cop.
Molekoa, who has been behind bars since his arrest in 2012, would offer his victims lifts in his BMW, then take them to deserted areas to rape them. In some cases, he would gang-rape the women with accomplices, who were never arrested.
As Judge Peter Mabuse
read out the sentence, Kooma and other victims erupted in jubilation, while others whispered “thank you”.
Molekoa sat in the dock unfazed, a half-empty bottle of cooldrink next to him.
Without blinking, he looked straight at the judge.
Judge Mabuse referred to Dr Nicholas Labuschagne’s report, which contained a psychologist’s evaluation. Labuschagne had testified that the former policeman was still denying responsibility. He had said Molekoa did not believe his behaviour was bad.
Judge Mabuse said Molekoa “had no sympathy and showed no remorse”.
“The accused does not accept the wrongfulness of his acts and has not learnt from his experiences.”
After sentencing, Molekoa spent some time chatting to friends and family. They laughed and hugged each other before he kissed a woman believed to be his girlfriend.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. You’ll be back soon,” said one of the friends.
Molekoa was then escorted down to the holding cells.
Molekoa is due to be tried again in Hammanskraal and Limpopo for alleged similar crimes.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesman Moses Dlamini said Molekoa had two other cases to face.
Shocked Community Policing Forum (CPF) members from Randburg said they felt “betrayed” by his actions.
“He was a sector commander. CPF members, sector crime forum committee members, plus the community, liked him and interacted with him well”, said Randburg CPF chairwoman Sandy Andrew.
Andrews described the man she once worked with as a helpful and handy policeman.
“He was very focused on drug abuse and made many drug-related arrests. We were upset when he was arrested for crimes against women.
“SAPS Randburg has strong programmes in place relating to women abuse, plus they feel strongly about corruption of any kind, but particularly anything that involves SAPS Randburg members,” she said.
Molekoa’s 16 assaults in just over a year
Mar 7, 2011 - Olifantsfontein: Molekoa’s first victim, 28, is raped after he forces her into his car and steals her cellphone.
Mar 28, 2011 - Midrand: A 19-year-old and her friend, 18, are kidnapped and robbed in Midrand and gang-raped by Molekoa and two accomplices in Kempton Park.
Apr 3, 2011 - Midrand: A fourth victim, 27, is kidnapped, robbed and then raped in Kempton Park.
May 23, 2011- Olifantsfontein: A 26-year-old is robbed and raped near Leisure Lakes.
Jun 6, 2011 - Olifantsfontein: A woman, 27, is robbed, kidnapped and raped near Leisure Lakes.
Jun 19, 2011 - Tembisa: Two cousins, aged 18 and 14, are kidnapped and raped. The younger is raped by Molekoa while the other girl is raped by an accomplice.
Jul 28, 2011 - Randburg: A woman is kidnapped, raped in Northriding
Aug 27, 2011 - Randburg: A 20-year-old is raped near Klipfontein View.
Sept 15, 2011 - Bramley View: Another victim kidnapped, robbed, raped.
Oct 16, 2011 - Kempton Park: A 37-year-old is kidnapped and raped.
Jan 29, 2012 - Kempton Park: A woman, 22, is kidnapped and held at gunpoint before being robbed and raped.
May 6, 2012 - Tembisa and Kempton Park: A 20-year-old is raped. Another victim, aged 29, is also kidnapped and raped.
Jun 17 2012 - Olifantsfontein: A 19-year-old is held at gunpoint and raped near Leisure Lakes.
Jun 30 2012 - Randburg: An 18-year-old is raped in Bryanston.
The Star