Two life imprisonment sentences for rapist

Simphiwe Ncube was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, two life imprisonments for two cases of rape, 15 years for another rape, 10 years for robbery and three years for assault, police said.

Ncube allegedly attacked two schoolchildren and a young woman, and he used a knife on different occasions. DNA samples taken from the victims assisted in the successful conviction of the accused, added police.

On February 4, 2014, Thembeka Mkhize was found dead near the road at Golokodo Reserve. She had been raped and stabbed. Her lifeless body was found half naked with her school uniform on the side.

Ncube also attacked a 36-year-old woman on October 14, 2010, while she was at Zwelisha, near Golokodo Reserve. He raped and robbed her of her belongings at knife point before fleeing.

The match of the DNA samples assisted in solving a case of rape that occurred in November 2004, where a learner was also assaulted and raped by Ncube at knife point in KwaMakhutha.

KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, said the Folweni police and the Umlazi FCS Unit had presented fully investigated dockets for prosecution, which led to the effective conviction and sentencing of the accused.

This after a 35-year-old man was handed three life sentences by the Port Shepstone Regional Court in KwaZulu-Natal for the rape and sexual assault of four children.

The crimes committed against the children, aged between four and six, took place in the Gcilima area between January and August 2012.

– Caxton News Service