Pietermaritzburg - Convicted rapist Sibukeli Mthembu, 25, was this week sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court to 35 years imprisonment for rape, house robbery, and armed robbery, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Saturday.
A 22-year-old woman was asleep with her family in their homestead at Richmond in the early hours of August 21, 2014, when two men entered the house, Captain Nqobile Gwala said.
They demanded money and cellphones from the family members and raped the victim at knifepoint. Charges of house robbery, armed robbery, and rape were opened at Richmond police station and the docket was later transferred to the Plessislaer family violence, child protection, and sexual offences unit for investigation.
"The investigating officer swiftly investigated the case and the accused was traced and placed under arrest. He appeared in court and was denied bail, [and] was kept in custody until his sentence. He was sentenced to five years for house robbery, 15 years for armed robbery, and 15 years for rape. The second suspect is still at large and sought by police," Gwala said.