Two rapists have been sentenced to a life sentence each after they were convicted for their heinous crimes committed against an elderly woman and a minor child.
Image: File
Two rapists have been sentenced to a life sentence each after they were convicted for their heinous crimes committed against an elderly woman and a minor child.
Justice was delayed for the now-deceased elderly woman at the Regional Court of North West sitting at the Atamelang Regional Court.
Tlotlano Simon Monnatshitlo, 50, was sentenced for the 2012 rape of Kelatlegile Angelina Phaka, who was 82 years old when the incident happened.
Monnatshitlo, who pleaded not guilty, was one of three who were to stand trial for the heinous crime.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson for the North West division, Sivenathi Gunya, confirmed as part of the rapist’s conviction, his name has been added to the National Register for Sex Offenders.
“The charges originated from an incident that occurred on 21 September 2012 near Madibogo village in the North West. Monnatshitlo, then 37 years old, entered the victim's house in the company of his two accomplices.
“The trio began to rape the 82-year-old, thereafter, they fled the scene. The complainant ran to her neighbours to report the rape. The police were then called. Upon arrival of the police, the complainant was taken for a medical examination, and a case was reported. The accused were subsequently linked through DNA, and both were arrested. The third perpetrator could not be linked by any evidential material. The co-accused later died before the matter could go on trial,” said Gunya.
Monnatshitlo was left as the sole accused and at trial opted to remain silent and leave it to the State to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“By the time the trial commenced, the complainant, Kelatlhegile Angeline Phaka, was already deceased, and as a result, the State brought an application, in terms of section 3 of the Law of Evidence Amendment Act, to have her hearsay statement be admitted as evidence. The State’s application was granted by the court, and the accused was convicted on the hearsay evidence of the deceased complainant, testimony of two State witnesses as well as by the DNA report that positively linked him,” said Gunya.
Gunya said the State prosecutor, Advocate Edward Manicus, told the court that the victim was defenceless, and the accused took advantage of that, and the court must not deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal at the Nquthu Regional Court, a 27-year-old man was sentenced for the rape of a minor girl in the Mondlo area in December 2022.
NPA spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said the girl was 10 years old at the time of the rape, when the incident occurred at home.
“(She) was at home having breakfast when the accused, who lived in the neighbourhood, entered her house and raped her. At some point, the complainant’s sister returned home, and the sound of her opening the gate disturbed the accused. The complainant managed to break free and ran to her sister. The accused escaped, running past the complainant’s sister. She shouted at him, asking him what he was doing there, but he fled. The complainant then told her sister what had happened,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
The matter was reported on the same day and the complainant received medical attention at a nearby hospital.
“In her statement, the complainant said that she wanted the court to keep the accused away from the community so that other children could be safe. She said that she is teased and tormented about what happened to her. The accused was sentenced accordingly.
"The court ordered that his name be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm. The NPA applauds this successful prosecution. It is incumbent on us to fight for justice on behalf of the victims of crime,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
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