Scottburgh - Convicted serial killer and rapist Nkosinathi Alpeos Ngcobo, 32, has been sentenced to six life imprisonment terms and further lengthy jail time in the Scottburgh High Court in KwaZulu-Natal, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Saturday.
The high court sentenced Ngcobo on Thursday to six life sentences and 146 years imprisonment for charges that included murder, rape, attempted murder, armed robbery, and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said in a statement.
Ngcobo was arrested in 2017 by Mehlomnya detectives for double murder and rape. The case was presented to the director of public prosecutions (DPP), but the state prosecutor then declined to prosecute and opted to hold an inquest.
A year later in 2018, he was arrested again on an armed robbery charge. His legal team attempted to have the charges withdrawn based on a technicality. However, the local magistrates' court refused and offered the investigating team three days to collect evidence for a bail application.
A multidisciplinary task team consisting of the Hawks Port Shepstone serious organised crime investigation unit, Port Shepstone policing cluster detectives, the Port Shepstone "war room", Mehlomnyama detectives, and the forensic science laboratory set out on an exhaustive investigation.
"It was established that Ngcobo was in fact a serial a killer and rapist and was linked to 22 cases of murder, attempted murder, rape, armed robbery, and housebreaking through DNA in Mehlomnyama, Port Shepstone, Southport, and Benoni."
His bail application was successfully opposed and he was remanded in custody until his conviction and sentencing on Thursday on 19 of the 22 charges which were preferred against him, Mhlongo said.
Hawks head Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya welcomed the sentences and also praised the fruitful collaborative effort between the Hawks, South African Police Service (SAPS) investigators, the prosecution, and the courts.
“It is disappointing that some individuals have no respect for other people’s lives. I am satisfied that the accused has been sentenced for a long period of time. The people shall, in his absence, be safe. The work of the investigation and prosecution team is commendable,” Lebeya said.