Durban - The Mtubatuba High Court in KwaZulu-Natal has sentenced a man to six life terms and a total of 116 years in prison for a serious of rapes and sexual assaults that he committed during a five-month crime spree.
The court on Thursday convicted and sentenced Jabulani Thandabantu Dlamini, 42, to six life terms for six counts of rape and a total of 116 years in prison for another six counts of rape, sexual assault, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and two counts of theft that he committed from January to May 2013.
According to KwaZulu-Natal provincial police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane, Dlamini approached women and pretended to be a security guard in a shopping mall at Empangeni.
He would tell them that he was placing them under arrest for shoplifting that they had committed inside the stores at the mall.
He would lure them to a secluded area where he raped and robbed them.
Twelve cases of rape, robbery, sexual assault and theft were opened at Empangeni police station. The dockets were transferred to Empangeni Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) for investigation. Alerts about him and his modus operandi were circulated through media and he fled to his hometown in Harding, South Coast.
In Harding, Dlamini raped a 11-year-old child.
A case of rape was opened and he was arrested. He was charged and later linked to his crimes that he committed at Empangeni.
He was positively identified by his victims in an identification parade.
He was then charged with 13 counts of rape, two counts of theft, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and one case of sexual assault.
Dlamini was sentenced to life terms each for six counts of rape, 15 years each for six counts of rape, five years for another case of rape, five years each for two cases of theft, five years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, four years for sexual assault and two years for robbery. The sentences will run concurrently.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni commended FCS detectives for thoroughly investigating the cases and sent well prepared dockets to court which led to the successful prosecution of the rapist.
“We will always make sure that criminals who prey on vulnerable women and children are kept behind bars indefinitely ,” she said.
ANA