Port Elizabeth - Eastern Cape Police Commissioner Liziwe Ntshinga has welcomed the lengthy jail sentence handed down to an accused sentenced on Thursday, in the Port Elizabeth High court on 17 counts including rape, housebreaking, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, possession of a firearm and ammunition, attempted murder as well as forcing a minor to watch a sexual act.
Former farm worker Sebenzile Simane, 32, from Hankey in the Eastern Cape, who brutally attacked a 44-year-old woman, shot her and then raped her in full view of her daughter, was sentenced to a total of 173 years and two life sentences in prison.
All counts will run concurrent to the life sentence. The accused will effectively serve a life sentence in prison.
On March 23, 2018, the woman and her children were attacked in their house on a farm in Hankey by the gun-wielding Simane.
During the ordeal, mother was shot and raped; money was also withdrawn from her bank account.
A few days later, the Organised Crime Investigation Unit, with the assistance of Palmietfontein detectives, arrested the Simane at Kwa Guna administrative area in the Nketlana Location, a few kilometres from the Lesotho border.
Some of the property taken from the incident was also recovered.
Simane appeared in the Hankey Magistrates’ court on Tuesday, April 3 last year and remained in custody until the finalisation of the case.
Ntshinga applauded the sterling work of the investigation team and prosecuting authority for ensuring a watertight case against Simane.
“Dedication, commitment and thorough investigation contributed to making sure that this heartless criminal is removed from society for a very long time. This case must serve as a deterrent to perpetrators of such crimes as the SA Police regards the safety and security of the farming community as a priority,” Ntshinga said.