Pretoria - An alleged serial rapist from Soshanguve insisted that his victims first wash themselves before he fled from the scene after raping them at gunpoint.
Sipho Mbokazi is alleged to have raped 11 women, including two children, during his year-and-a-half reign of terror in Soshanguve.
In four cases he raped his victims twice. During two of the incidents he allegedly also forced them to perform oral sexual acts on him.
The 37-year-old man, who lived in Soshanguve, pleaded not guilty to 35 charges in the High Court in Pretoria. Apart from facing 15 rape and three indecent assault charges, he is also facing a range of housebreaking and robbery charges. He remained mum over his defence.
One of his alleged victims took the stand on Tuesday to testify about her ordeal and Judge Jody Kollapen, following his request, ordered that the proceedings be conducted behind closed doors.
The State claimed that Mbokazi, during some of his alleged rape sprees, managed to gain entry into the homes of his victims by pretending he was a police officer. He sometimes produced a false police identification card.
The crime spree started on August 22, 2012, and continued until April last year, when he was arrested.
According to the prosecution, Mbokazi and two unknown accomplices entered the Soshanguve home of a family while they were watching television. Their door was closed, but not locked. On this occasion the gang allegedly only tied the family up and took their possessions, including their car.
Three weeks later, Mbokazi, said to be acting on his own, allegedly overpowered an 18-year-old woman after breaking into her home. He tied her hands and feet together and raped her. It is alleged that Mbokazi washed her private parts before he robbed her of her cellphone and television. He then allegedly raped her again and ordered her to wash herself before he left the scene.
Three weeks later, a Soshanguve man was robbed of his possessions after the was tied up by a gun-wielding intruder, said to be Mbokazi.
A mother and her two children were overpowered on June 11, 2013, about a month-and-a-half after the previous incident. Mbokazi, allegedly wielding a gun, is believed to have ordered the family to lie on the ground. He covered them with a blanket and after robbing them, he allegedly raped the family’s 15-year-old daughter once and the mother twice. Each was ordered to take a bath after being raped.
A 24-year-old woman was on June 21, 2013, on her way back home, when she was allegedly confronted by the accused and raped.
Another family was overpowered three weeks later by a gun-wielding man, while they were sleeping. It is said that Mbokazi followed the same modus operandi by first robbing the family and then raping one of the women in the house.
On another occasion, a mother was getting her children ready for school, when there was a knock on the door.
Mbokazi allegedly told them he was a police officer and they opened the door for him. Once inside, he allegedly wielded his gun and threatened to rape the mother in front of her children.
Pretoria News