Elderly KaBokweni man convicted of kidnapping and rape

The Nelspruit Sexual Offences Court recently convicted and sentenced a 63-year-old man to life plus 10 years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and raping his lover, aged 53.

In court, the convict pleaded not guilty and denied ever raping the victim.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority’s regional spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, the convict and the victim were in an intimate relationship in 2018, from November 1 to 18.

Nyuswa said the victim had disappeared from her home at TV Trust in KaBokweni and a missing person case was opened. Nine days later, she managed to gain access to the man’s phone and called her sister, telling her that she was locked up at his place and needed help.

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“The police were alerted and when they arrived, the man blocked them from entering his house. The police broke the door down and found the victim severely malnourished. The man was arrested and charged,” she said.

In the court proceedings, the state prosecutor, Leana Jones, presented compelling evidence from the victim, who told the court that the convict had threatened to kill her should she report the kidnapping to anyone. She also testified that he repeatedly raped her and deprived her of food and water, and that she had to use a bucket kept in the room to relieve herself during her captivity.

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Jones revealed the J88 (a standard medical report) showing her injuries. In aggravation of the sentence, Jones argued that the convict’s actions will have a lasting effect on the victim’s health, as she will forever be troubled with reliving the horrifying incident. She urged the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence, from which the court found no substantial reasons to deviate.

The court ordered the convict’s name to be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.