Man sentenced to 35 years for rapes and robberies in eMalahleni
The state presented evidence in court, which led to the conviction and sentencing. The perpetrator pleaded not guilty to these multiple crimes.
The eMalahleni Regional Court recently convicted and sentenced Mbuyeleni Mbadamane (38) to 35 years’ imprisonment for three counts of rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances that he had committed on the N12 towards Phola.
Mbadamane was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment per rape count and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The court ordered the sentence of one rape count to run concurrently with the sentence imposed on robbery with aggravating circumstances. Therefore, the offender will serve 35 years’ direct imprisonment.
According to the Mpumalanga spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Monica Nyuswa, the offender accosted three women who were walking from the Phola off-ramp on the N12 towards Phola on different occasions from November to December 2018.
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“He attacked them with a knife, raped them and robbed one of them of her cellphones and money. The victims did not know the perpetrator. However, they reported the ordeals to the police.”
Nyuswa said during investigations, the offender was found using his victim’s cellphone with a different SIM card. Upon checking it, the police found that the IMEI number matched the cellphone he had robbed, and he was subsequently arrested.
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“In court, Mbadamane pleaded not guilty. The state led evidence of three complainants, an identity parade and positive DNA results. He was found guilty as charged. The court found he is not a candidate for rehabilitation and found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed ordained sentence,” Nyuswa said.
