Graskop High Court sentences serial rapist to four life terms and 78 years

The Graskop High Court recently convicted and sentenced a serial rapist, Respect Mandla Siwela Malikane (30), to four life terms and an additional 78 years’ imprisonment.

He was convicted on four counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, one count of murder, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and three counts of housebreaking.

According to the Mpumalanga spokesperson of the National Prosecuting Authority, Monica Nyuswa, these crimes were committed between November 2013 and December 2017, in Violet Bank in Bushbuckridge and in Clau-Clau in KaBokweni.

“The convict together with his unknown accomplice would threaten the victims with a hammer, rape them and rob them of their valuables like cellphones and clothing items. One of the victims was a pensioner (72) and another victim was gangraped.

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“In one incident, the offender and his unknown accomplice came across a minor victim walking on the street. They grabbed her and raped her multiple times. In another, Malikane broke into the house of an elderly woman in Violet Bank Trust. He raped her and assaulted her to her head. She was taken to the hospital and later succumbed to her injuries. He continued with his crime spree until December 10, 2017, when he armed himself with a hammer and broke into a house in Clau-Clau. He found two victims who were sleeping and raped one of them, and attempted to rape the other. He then fled the scene with their cellphones.”

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Monica said the offender was linked to the crime through DNA. “The State Advocate led testimonies of the complainants, first reports and medical reports. In aggravation of sentence, the offender’s circumstances did not warrant the court to deviate from the mandatory minimum sentence, and he was sentenced accordingly.”