Potchefstroom – Two convicted rapists - one in North West and the other in KwaZulu-Natal - have been handed lengthy jail terms, police said on Friday.
North West police spokesperson Sergeant Kelebogile Moleko said Ernest van Wyk, 32, was sentenced in the Atamelang Regional Court on Thursday to life imprisonment for raping a five-year-old girl.
On December 2, 2012, the girl was sent “to go and buy chips at a tuck shop by her parents”, Moleko said. Along the way, Van Wyk, who was 27 at that time, convinced the girl to accompany him to his home where he raped her.
“The minor went home holding her panty on her hand and told her parents what had transpired. The parents went to the police to lay a charge of rape and the suspect was arrested. During the investigation, DNA was extracted from the accused and it came back positive linking him to the case,” Moleko said.
North West police commissioner Lt-Gen Baile Motswenyane thanked the girl’s parents who helped police with information. She also welcomed the sentence handed to Van Wyk, saying it “shows to criminals out there that justice will prevail”.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said Nkosinathi Mzokhona Ngubane, 36, was convicted in the Ntuzuma Regional Court on Friday and sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
On April 8, 2013, a 41-year-old woman was asleep at her home in KwaMashu hostel, Durban, when Ngubane knocked at the door at about 2am and posed as police officer.
“She opened the door and the accused entered the house and threatened her with a knife. He then demanded cash and a cellphone; after it was given to him the accused raped her,” Zwane said.
A case of house robbery and rape was opened at KwaMashu police station. Through intensive investigation, Ngubane was traced and arrested on March 27, 2015 in the Mtubatuba area where he had been hiding.
“He appeared in court several times until today [Friday] when he was sentenced. He was sentenced to 10 years for rape and 10 years for house robbery,” Zwane said.
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Mmamonnye Ngobeni commended the officers for the arrest and successful conviction.
“A case never gets rotten, we are pleased that the justice was finally served to the victim,” she said.
African News Agency
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