CAPE TOWN – A child rapist from the Eastern Cape has been handed down two life terms for raping minors.
In a statement released on Monday, provincial police spokesperson, Captain Khaya Tonjeni said its district commissioner, Brigadier Ngangema Xakavu, welcomed the conviction of 35-year-old rapist Xola Mayedwa in the Bhisho High Court.
Tonjeni said Mayedwa was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls, aged nine and 11 and assaulted a 13-year-old girl in the Bongweni area in Peddie in September 2018.
“The suspect was immediately arrested and appeared at the Peddie Magistrate Court. He was denied bail and appeared several times at court.
“The case was later transferred to the Bhisho High Court in June 2019 and he also appeared several times until his conviction day,” Tonjeni said.
“He was found guilty in October 2020 and was sentenced to two life imprisonment for rape and 30 days imprisonment for assault.”
Eastern Cape provincial police commissioners, Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga commended the detectives for the conviction and said this should send a strong message to perpetrators of crime that the South African Police Service (SAPS) will arrest, investigate and ensure all perpetrators are put behind bars.
In an unrelated incident, a 23-year-old man was arrested by the Port Elizabeth K9 unit in Motherwell after he was found to be in possession of a firearm and in contravention of the Disaster Management Act for being outside during the national curfew.
The man was arrested after he was stopped in his vehicle in Nqabara Street and could not explain why he was outdoors at 11.45pm.
Upon searching his vehicle, a .38 Special revolver was found and officers managed to establish the firearm was reported stolen in Motherwell in September 2020.
ANA