Nelspruit – Former initiation school owner Johan Jabulani Mlombo, 51, was sentenced in the Circuit of the Pretoria High Court in Nelspruit on Friday to 17 life imprisonment terms for rape, Mpumalanga police said.
The court imposed “an unsympathetic sentence” on Mlombo after he was found guilty on 17 counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, Colonel Leonard Hlathi said.
“The accused’s wife, Sister Mapalese Khoza aged 43, who was standing accused with him, received a suspended sentence on charges of assault with an intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) and assault common,” he said.
The court heard that the couple enrolled 21 girls aged between nine and 17 during winter in 2012 at their initiation school in Masoyi near Hazyview. Mlombo raped and sexually assaulted the initiates on August 29, 2012.
The court further heard that Khoza was aware of the incidents and even aided Mlombo to commit the crimes by ushering the girls to Mlombo’s room. It was also revealed that Khoza physically assaulted some of the girls during the initiation period.
“The high court did not hesitate to sentence Mlombo to 17 life sentences for the rape charges and a total of 15 years for the three counts sexual assaults. Khoza was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for assault GBH and six months for assault common. Both her sentences were suspended for three years.”
The Mpumalanga police management welcomed the sentences and believed that evidence presented had assisted the court to arrive at its decision. They also believed the sentences would serve as a deterrent to other potential criminals, Hlathi said.
ANA