The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, expressed his happiness after the court convicted 29-year-old Richman Maluleke who was found guilty on 12 February 2020, by the Mhala Regional Court for raping an 82-year-old elderly woman back in 2017.
General Mondli Zuma has welcomed the man’s conviction and applauded the sterling work done by dedicated members of Detectives, the Prosecution team, as well as the Judiciary.
“We are indeed making good inroads in addressing gender based violence in our society and with convictions such as this, one can be certain of renewed hope for many victims of sexual violence. We encourage our members to use the resources we have, like in this case, to carry out our mission of preventing, combating, as well as investigating such cases where our vulnerable women suffer violence in the hands of heartless criminals. No one should take an advantage of the vulnerable groups including women, children and the elderly. We hope that this man who took advantage of the old granny will get a harsh sentence so that others can learn that women should be respected and cared for. I once again thank the Detectives, Prosecution, and the Judiciary for ensuring that justice is served, “said General Zuma.
The Court heard how Maluleke went to the 82-year-old granny’s house in Newton Trust near Bushbuckridge on 25 January 2017, with an intention to rape her. Reports indicate that Maluleke realised that the old lady’s house was not properly closed and no one was around to rescue her, all of these made it easy for him to carry out his evil mission.
Maluleke then found the old woman sleeping in her bed and that is when he started touching her. The granny, who had no one to help her in her ordeal, tried with her little strength to fight this barbaric man but he overpowered and raped her.
After satisfying his evil lust, Maluleke fled the scene, believing that nobody will ever find him as he knew that he was not seen by anyone except the old lady who was left traumatised by the horrific incident that she had experienced.
Police were notified about the incident and they rushed to the scene where a case of rape was opened. Members from Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (Unit) immediately launched a manhunt and they started with their investigation.
They worked tirelessly driven by the commitment that SAPS continuously make in Parliament to deal decisively with gender based violence which has reared its ugly head in our country over the past few years. These dedicated Detectives vowed to make sure that whoever raped the old woman should be hunted down, arrested and have his day in court. The relentless effort and hard work by the members paid off as they made a breakthrough where Maluleke was finally linked technically and arrested in 2019.
Maluleke pleaded guilty and hence his conviction yesterday at Mhala Regional Court.
Maluleke remains in custody and the matter has been postponed to 03 March 2020, for victim impact report as well as for sentencing.
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