The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma welcomed hefty sentences meted out to 28 year old Siyabonga Rich Matholenge for rape.
The sentencing comes after the North Gauteng High Court sitting in Nelspruit heard how Matholenge terrorized the community of Pienaar as well as neighbouring areas between 2011 and 2014. In his reign of terror, he robbed, assaulted and raped a number of women aged between 15 and 21.
In some instances he committed the acts of crime with his accomplice who is still on the police’s list of wanted persons.
Amongst the incidents, is one where Matholenge together with an accomplice accosted two girls, aged between 15 and 16, at knife point and forced them to a playground. They then robbed the victims of their cellphones, assaulted and took turns raping them repeatedly.
In another incident, Matholenge came across a woman who was walking with her neighbour, assaulted and stabbed the neighbour who then ran for his life. He then dragged the 20 year old woman to a nearby bush and raped her. Matholenge also went into a certain house at Kanyamazane, where he broke the door, held a 21 year old woman at knifepoint and raped her.
In total Matholenge was sentenced on six rape cases, where he was granted a life sentence on each of the four, a 20 and 10 year jail terms on the remaining two. The court ordered that all the sentences will run concurrently.
The Provincial Commissioner appreciated the sterling work done by the investigating team and hoped that the sentences will serve as a deterrent to other would-be criminals.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
