Durban: A KZN man, who served jail time for setting a woman’s car alight and then came out of prison and brutally raped her, has been jailed for life.
This week, the 37-year-old man was sentenced in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court to life and 14 years’ imprisonment for the rape, kidnapping and assault of a woman in January 2020.
He was also convicted of theft and malicious injury to property.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Kara said the incidents took place in the Ndwedwe area, outside Verulam.
“The man knew the victim as she had previously assisted another woman to lay a charge of rape against him. However, that case was removed from the court roll as the woman had fled from the area.
“The victim’s role in assisting the other woman with her case, angered the man and, after some time, he set her car on fire. He was convicted of malicious injury to property and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, half of which was wholly suspended for five years.
“After finishing his sentence, he sought out the victim at her home where he severely beat her. He then dragged her to his home by knifepoint, where he continued to beat her. He did this in full view of his family members. He damaged her cellphones and threw them away, together with her wedding rings.”
Kara said he then forced the victim to a nearby river where he stabbed her in the thighs and raped her twice.
“He asked her to wait there while he fetched petrol to set her alight. She escaped at this point and walked on the road, until a police vehicle took her to a police station. The man was apprehended at home by community members and members of the police.”
The Regional Court prosecutor, Ishara Sewnarayan, led the evidence of the victim, the man’s family members and medical evidence.
In a victim impact statement, the victim told the court that the incident had led to the break-up of her marriage and that she had to relocate.
The victim said she suffered physical and emotional scars.
IOL