The Pietermaritzburg Regional Court has convicted and sentenced Siyabonga Mokoena, 32, of the Sphumelele informal settlement in nearby Howick, to life imprisonment for four counts of rape and a further 10 years each for three counts of robbery, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Sunday.
He was convicted and sentenced on Thursday, spokesman Lt-Col Thulani Zwane said.
Mokoena was arrested in 2012 for a housebreaking case and was then linked to rape and robbery cases committed in and around the Howick area from 2008 until 2012.
He terrorised his victims in the area, threatening them with a knife and then raping them. He also robbed them of their cellphones, cash, and other items. One incident was at Howick along the N3 freeway on September 9, 2008, at about 6pm when the victim, 56, was attacked and raped near the Umngeni River. He fled the scene after the incident.
The last incident was on June 19, 2012 at about 6am near the N3 freeway at Howick when the victim was hitch-hiking and was approached by Mokoena. He also threatened to stab her before raping her. The cases were all reported at Howick police station. All the cases were transferred to the Howick family violence, child protection, and sexual offences unit for further investigation, Zwane said.
KwaZulu-Natal acting Provincial Commissioner Maj-Gen Bhekinkosi Langa commended the officers for achieving a good outcome to the case. “This is a warning to would-be rapists that our officers will leave no stone unturned against those who abuse women and children,” he said.
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