Four rapists have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Lusikisiki Regional Court in three separate cases.
In the first matter, Nathi Chithelo, 32, and Athenkosi Gcambaza, 25, were convicted of raping an 18-year-old.
On January 15, 2023, the victim was walking home from Makukhanye High School in the KwaNyathi area in the district of Lusikisiki, when she was accosted by two men unknown to her.
They held her at knifepoint and instructed her to walk to a house still under construction.
The court heard Chithelo and Gcambaza took turns raping the victim before fleeing the scene.
After the ordeal, the victim alerted the first person she saw, and the community mobilised to apprehend the two rapists in the vicinity.
After apprehending the duo, the community handed them over to the police.
During the trial, they pleaded not guilty. Chithelo claimed the victim was his girlfriend, while Gcambaza claimed the victim consented to a threesome.
In a separate case, a 30-year-old man was convicted of raping his three-year-old nephew.
His name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim.
On September 8, 2021, the rapist’s sister, the mother of the victim, was away from home. At the time he lived with his sister in the Ngobozana area in the district of Lusikisiki.
Pleading guilty in court, he admitted he promised to buy his nephew sweets and used this as a guise to lure him to his bedroom where he anally penetrated the child.
He was arrested after the boy told his mother and she took him to St Elizabeth Hospital Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC).
The child was so badly injured by the rape, that he now uses an artificial instrument to relieve himself.
In the last matter before the court, Thobela Khulani, 35, was convicted of raping a mentally ill woman.
Khulani pleaded guilty in court after he was linked by his DNA.
The court heard he raped a mentally ill and mute woman on July 28, 2021, in the Mantlaneni area, in the district of Lusikisiki.
He was arrested after the woman showed her mother what had happened by pointing on her genital area.
The mother immediately opened a case and the victim was taken to the St Elizabeth TCC where DNA swabs were taken.
The victim was also able to point out Khulani after the community rounded up all the men in the village and conducted an identity parade.
In all the cases, the presiding magistrate Zanekhaya Gxarisa agreed with the State that there were no compelling circumstances for a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo commended the prosecutor, the TCC staff, and investigating officers.
He said the sentences were a clear indication that the NPA’s strategies targeted at Lusikisiki, dubbed the ‘rape capital’ of South Africa, were bearing the desired fruits.