Hefty sentences handed down to rapists

South African Police Service

Hefty sentences handed down to rapists
Hefty sentences handed down to rapists

The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane welcomed hefty sentences handed down to two rapists, Obed Pilusa (31) and Sipho Nampa (31) by the Gauteng North High Court last week.

The pair was sentenced on Thursday, 14 June 2018 for rapes and robberies committed between January and May 2016 in Brits, Mooinooi and Ekangala in Mpumalanga. The accused targeted and raped individual women aged between 19 and 35. It came out during the proceedings that the accused would first ask directions from hitch hiking and unsuspecting women, then offer them lifts.

Once inside a vehicle, the women would be pointed with a firearm, robbed of their personal belongings, taken to the nearest bushes and raped by both men. The pair ran out of luck when the police pounced on them on 5 May 2016 at Oukasie location in Brits on arrival from Groblersdal where they raped and robbed a woman.

It was also established that they committed the same offence in Ekangala on the same day of their arrest. Upon arrest, they were found in possession of the victim’s cell phones, groceries and cash as well as a pellet gun and police business card.

The court convicted the accused on Monday, 4 June 2018 and sentenced on Thursday, 14 June 2018. Pilusa was sentenced to six life imprisonments for rape and 120 years for 8 counts of robbery.

Nampa was sentenced to seven life imprisonments for rape and 120 years for 8 counts of robbery. The vehicle used during these crimes was forfeited to the State.

The Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane congratulated the detectives at Brits Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) for working tirelessly to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book. She said further that the sentence will serve as an indication that the police will not hesitate to deal harshly with those who commit crimes against women and children.

South Africa Today – South Africa News

SOURCESouth African Police Service