Life in jail for man who held woman and child captive in Manzimakhulu

A 42-year-old man was sentenced at the Nongoma Regional Court to life and 28 years imprisonment for the rape (on different occasions), kidnapping, assault, and robbery of a 34-year-old woman in Manzimakhulu, KwaZulu-Natal, in February 2020.

The accused visited the community where the complainant resided, pretending to be a pastor, said National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.

“He and the complainant got involved in a romantic relationship and he then asked her to visit him at his home in Manzimakhulu to meet his mother. On February 28, 2020, the complainant took her minor daughter and visited the accused’s home. When she arrived, she realised he was living alone in an abandoned two-room house. He told her that he had lied about being a pastor,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

He demanded that she undress and then raped her twice. When she protested, he assaulted her with open hands and fists. He locked her and the child in the two-room house and took away her cellphone so that she could not contact her family members, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara. From then, until March 10, 2020, the accused raped the complainant daily and assaulted her repeatedly, causing her to suffer multiple bruises, swelling and lacerations on her face and body. He did this in the presence of her child.

“The accused guarded the complainant whenever she needed to go outside to use the toilet or bathe herself and her child, and he threatened to kill her and the child and even burn down her family home if she attempted to escape. During this time, he also assaulted and threatened the complainant with a bush knife and demanded that she give him her SASSA Child Grant card as well as the PIN for the card. She initially refused, but due to the assault and threat of the weapon, she eventually complied,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

The accused used the card to withdraw the child support grant and used the money for himself. The complainant eventually escaped when the accused left the house door unlocked. She fled to a neighbouring house and was taken to another house where a policeman lived. She relayed her incident to the policeman who then took her to the police station and a case was opened. The accused fled his home but was traced by police and arrested a week later, said Ms Ramkisoon-Kara.

In court, Prosecutor Busisiwe Mfeka led the testimonies of the complainant and the first reports, as well as medical and DNA reports. In aggravation of the sentence, Ms Mfeka submitted a Victim Impact Statement, compiled by the complainant, and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Bhekithemba Hopewell Sithole.

In her statement, the woman said that she was so terrified during her ordeal that she did not even sleep when the accused slept, for fear that he may harm her child. She also said that the child has been traumatised since she had witnessed the rape and assault of the complainant.

“The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape, five years imprisonment for kidnapping, four years imprisonment for assault with grievous bodily harm, one-year imprisonment for assault common, 15 years imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances and three years imprisonment for theft. The court ordered that all the sentences run concurrently with life, resulting in the effective sentence of life imprisonment. In addition, the accused was declared unfit to possess a firearm,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter. Curbing the scourge of gender-based violence remains one of the organisation’s top priorities, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

The NPA urges members of the community to speak out about these offences and be on the lookout for such cases. She added that the NPA commends the work done by the prosecution and the police in securing the conviction.