Rapist sentenced to three life terms and a further 50 years

Rapist sentenced to three life terms and a further 50 years
Rapist sentenced to three life terms and a further 50 years

Between 2011 to 2015, five young female victims aged between eight to 17, suffered untold pain at the hands of a ruthless criminal.

Sibusiso Innocent Mpisane used areas like Margate, Port Shepstone and Port Edward as his hunting ground where he raped young females and in one instance, he went as far as killing his victim who was eight years old at the time.

Sadly, he killed her because he feared that he might expose him. The first reported incident took place in Margate on 13 December 2011, where a 17 year old complainant was collecting firewood when she was approached by Sibusiso who instructed her to leave with him. He led her to the bushy area where he raped her.

The second reported incident was in Margate in the sugarcane fields. The victim met Sibusiso at Marburg.Hhe struck up a conversation with her until it came to a point where Sibusiso talked about a job opportunity in Margate. Lured by the prospect of employment, the victim boarded a taxi with Sibusiso to Margate. The duo jumped off and started walking on foot. The walk got longer and further away from the residential area.

Surrounded by sugar cane fields, the victim queried Sibusiso about the estimated arrival time to their destination. Sibusiso responded by saying that he has lost his way, he asked her to walk ahead of him. A few steps later, Sibusiso grabbed her around the neck and forced her to sleep with him. She protested but he promised to kill and burn her. In a secluded area and left with not much of a choice she did not fight him anymore and he raped her. After he had finished, he gave her R10 to board a taxi.

The victim went to the police station where she reported the matter and necessary procedures were followed.

The next incident was one which took place on 12 October 2013 and this one proves the heartless nature of Sibusiso. The six and nine year old siblings from Nzimakwe location were doing laundry in the nearby river when Sibusiso surfaced and asked them to accompany him. The young girls followed him and the route went through the bushes where he raped both girls.

A case of rape was opened at Port Edward police station and necessary samples were taken from both the victims. On 5 January 2015, in Louisiana a 13 year old female was walking in a bushy area when Sibusiso accosted her and raped her.

The last reported incident and probably the most heart wrenching of them all, was that of the eight year old Nqobile Mzelemu who stayed with her mother at Nzimakwe location, on this fateful day, she was visiting her father’s place also in Nzimakwe location on 25 January 2014. When she was making her way back to her mother’s place she met Sibusiso along the way whom she knew very well.

Sibusiso took the victim to her place and she was never seen again. The child was reported missing to the Port Edward police station. During preliminary investigations, it was discovered that Sibusiso was the last one seen with the eight year old child. The badly decomposed body of the child was only found in July 2014 in the sugarcane fields. The victim was buried and as expected Sibusiso attended the funeral. All the cases were investigated thoroughly but all leads went cold and the suspect could not be traced, but Sibusiso was not going to have the last laugh.

Warrant Officer Mfanafuthi Ngubane from Ugu Cluster Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit received DNA results from one of the cases committed by Sibusiso. The DNA linked him to all the above mentioned cases. Detective Ngubane pulled all the cases where Sibusiso was linked as the perpetrator. The detective had an idea of who he was looking for because Sibusiso was no stranger to the law, the only issue was to locate him.

The detective together with his colleagues worked hard, searching for Sibusiso and they made a breakthrough in August 2016. The suspect was charged on all counts of rapes where he was linked with DNA. To the surprise of the detective, Sibusiso cooperated and agreed to do a pointing out of all the scenes. He informed the detective that in January 2014, he took the victim to his place where he kept her overnight. The next morning, he took her to the sugarcane fields where he raped and killed her.

The matter was first heard at Ramsgate High Court and later moved to the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

On 11 September 2017, Sibusiso Mpisane was sentenced to three life terms and a further 50 years for five counts of rape and one count of murder. The life sentences were ordered concurrently consecutively to the 50 years. Nqobile’s mother was very pleased with sentence handed to Sibusiso. She also praised Detective Ngubane for his patience in handling her child’s case. The victim who was raped at the sugarcane fields commended detective Ngubane for his tenacity, she said she was surprised when she received a phone call from the detective informing her that the suspect who raped her in 2012 had been caught. The victim was also very happy with the sentence given to Sibusiso.

South Africa Today – South Africa News

SOURCESouth African Police Service