Cape Town - Police management in the Western Cape have praised the work of the detectives who managed to track down and arrest the so-called UCT rapist who on Monday was sentenced to nine life terms.
The Western Cape High Court sentenced 43-year-old Mthunzi (Patrick) Hlomane to nine life sentences after he had attacked six young women near the famous Rhodes Memorial between November 2015 and February 2016.
In a plea and sentence agreement, Hlomane pleaded guilty to all the charges against him which included rape, kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Five of the women were University of Cape Town students.
Each one was raped, some repeatedly, and only one victim escaped without being raped.
In a statement on Tuesday, police in the Western Cape lauded the team of detectives from the Provincial Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences on their “tireless efforts” to secure the conviction and sentencing of Hlomane.
“Collaboration between the South African Police and the Justice Department ensured that this much publicised case could be finalised in a most effective manner,” the statement said.
Hlomane was arrested on 12 March this year in the forest below the Rhodes Memorial and was linked to the cases through DNA analysis.
“He entered into a plea bargain agreement and pleaded guilty to 28 charges including robbery, assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, abduction and rape,” Western Cape police said.
“The crimes were committed in a particularly violent and cruel manner which escalated during each incident and the victims were kept captive during which time they suffered a drawn out ordeal at the hands of the rapist.
“In the spirit of the 16 Days of Activism to create awareness about Violence Against Women and Children, the conviction and nine life sentences that the rapist received send out a strong message that crimes against women and vulnerable victims will not be tolerated in our province and that the perpetrators thereof will be removed from society for a long time.”
In passing sentence, Acting Judge Mushtak Parker said: “The absolute fear over which potential victims lived with on a day to day basis in Cape Town, its still in our memories.”
At the time of the attacks, UCT had offered a reward of R100 000 for information leading to his arrest.
African News Agency