Tzaneen rapist slammed with 98 years in prison
Ronny Maluleke, notorious rapist from Ritavi Village, sentenced to 98 years for multiple counts of housebreaking, rape, and robbery.
TZANEEN – Ronny Maluleke, a notorious rapist from Ritavi Village outside Tzaneen was sentenced to 98 years in prison by the Polokwane High Court for charges including two counts of housebreaking with intent to rape, 19 counts of rape, and 12 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The accused pleaded guilty under Section 112 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
“In his statement, the accused stated that between 2015 and 2021 he had entered the victim’s homesteads during the night where he threatened and robbed the victims before raping them. He had also created a Facebook account that he used to lure victims who travelled from Johannesburg, Alexandra, Mokopane, Eastern Cape and Qwaqwa under the pretence that he had secured security and domestic jobs for them,” says Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, NPA regional spokesperson.
The accused stated that upon their arrival at Tzaneen, he would threaten them with a knife and a firearm before raping them. He would then rob them of belongings such as money, cellphones and other valuables.
“He was later arrested at a hospital after one of the victims shot him in the leg with a firearm that he used to threaten her. In aggravation of the sentence, state advocate Muneiwa Ratshibvumo submitted that the accused took advantage of the vulnerable women who were desperate to find employment and violated them sexually,” adds Malabi-Dzhangi.
She states that the accused ruined their lives and violated their dignity: “Ratshibvumo concluded by submitting that the accused stripped away the trust the victims had in men, and they suffered emotionally and are devastated about the ordeal. In sentencing remarks, Acting Judge Ephraim Makgoba said that the accused committed these offences over a long period of time and the prescribed life imprisonment sentence would be a lenient sentence due to the multiplicity of the offences.”
Makgoba sentences the accused to an effective sentence of 98 years imprisonment.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentence, with Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Ivy Thenga, hoping it would deter other perpetrators from committing similar offenses and reaffirming her stance against gender-based violence.
Advocate Thenga commended Advocate Muneiwa Ratshibvumo and investigating officer, Sergeant Mokgadi Ishmael Matjeka, for their diligent work.
