The Estcourt Regional Court has sentenced a 49-year-old man to three terms of life imprisonment for the rape of his biological daughter from 2005 to 2020.

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in KZN, said the man began raping the woman when they lived in Estcourt. She was five years old at the time.

They then moved to Pietermaritzburg, where he raped her whenever her stepmother was at work.

He always threatened her with an axe or a bush knife, saying that he would kill her if she told anyone.

She reported the matter after she fell pregnant and had her father’s child.

In its evidence, Ramkisson-Kara said the state submitted the results of a paternity test which proved that the man impregnated his daughter.

In her evidence, the woman said that she does not know how she will explain to her child that they have the same father.

“She also said that she feels as if she has been robbed of her entire childhood. The man was sentenced accordingly,” said Ramkisson-Kara.

Ramkisson-Kara said the NPA welcomes the finalisation of this matter and went on to congratulate the prosecution and stakeholders on a job well done.