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Traditional healer receives double life sentence for rape and kidnapping
The 36-year-old man received two life sentences plus an additional five years for two incidents of rape and kidnapping.
A CLERMONT traditional healer, Mandla Dlamini (36) was found guilty of rape and kidnapping by the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court and was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.
His sentencing followed a lengthy investigation into rape accusations that were laid against him by two women.
According to KwaZulu-Natal’s police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, the incidents of rape occurred in August and September in 2019.
“The first victim, who is originally from Ixopo, met Dlamini in a taxi while travelling to Port Shepstone. While on route, the traditional healer approached the victim and told her that he could see that her family was under a dark cloud and he will have to go there and perform some sort of a traditional cleansing ceremony.
“The victim agreed and a date was arranged for him to go to her home in Ixopo. Upon arrival, he performed a cleansing ceremony. After he was done, he told the family that he needed to take the lady with him to Durban for cleansing at the sea. The family agreed and the traditional healer took her with him,” explained Gwala.
Dlamini took the girl to Durban’s South Beach, where he performed a cleansing ceremony. They then traveled to his home in Clermont.
“The victim was given a traditional concoction to drink and subsequently felt dizzy and passed out. When she regained consciousness, she realised she had been raped and opened a rape case at KwaDabeka SAPS,” said Gwala.
The second victim was a 27-year-old woman from Port Shepstone.
“She told police that Dlamini had come to her Port Shepstone home to perform a cleansing ceremony and informed her family that he needed to take her to Durban to perform another cleansing. The same modus operandi was used on his second victim. She was locked in Dlamini’s home for several days and given a concoction to drink, which made her dizzy and led to her collapsing. She eventually escaped and opened a rape case at KwaDabeka SAPS,” said Gwala.
After the cases were opened, a team of detectives from the Pinetown Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit set up a sting operation that led to the arrest of Dlamini.
“He had boarded a taxi from Empangeni to Durban to meet his ‘client’. He was arrested by the police on Warwick Avenue in Durban” added Gwala.
The cases were heard at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court. He was found guilty on both counts of rape and kidnapping. He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment and an additional five years imprisonment.
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At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
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