The Breyten High Court in Mpumalanga sentenced Nkosikhona Ntshalintshali (36) to life and an additional 110 years’ imprisonment for the string of rapes he had committed in eMkhondo.

The accused pleaded guilty to the crimes and was subsequently convicted on four counts of rape, four counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of housebreaking with the intent to commit crime.

These offences were committed in Mafred Homes, Phola Park and Kempville Magadeni Section in eMkhondo.

Between November 2008 and June 2009, Ntshalintshali broke into his victims’ homes, threatened them with a knife, robbed them of their valuables and assaulted some of them.

“Some of the victims were accosted while walking in the street and were dragged to secluded areas. In one incident on November 11, 2008, the complainant was walking in the vicinity of Mafred Homes when she came across the accused, who demanded a cellphone. He dragged her to the railway line and raped her. The complainant did not know the perpetrator, but reported her ordeal to the police,” says Monica Nyuswa, the regional NPA spokesperson.

Ntshalintshali and two unknown perpetrators continued with a raping spree on June 5, 2009, when they confronted a man and a woman who were walking in the street in the Kempville Magadeni Section. They demanded the victims’ cellphones and assaulted the man with a knobkierie, injuring his leg and taking his shoes.

They threatened the woman with a knife and all three of them took turns to rape her. They fled the scene with her clothes.

Ntshalintshali was arrested in 2020 and was linked to the crimes through DNA test results.

In aggravation of the sentence, senior state Advocate Themba Lusenga argued that the accused had expressed regret for his actions, but shown none.

“The amount of violence used to commit these offences was so severe that it cannot be brushed aside and go unpunished. The accused had no choice but to plead guilty, because the evidence against him was overwhelming and the state asked the court to impose a prescribed minimum sentence.”

The state presented the victim impact statements compiled by court preparation officer Lindokuhle Sithole, which gave details about the trauma caused by the crimes in their lives.

The court found no substantial and compelling circumstances warranting deviation from the prescribed ordained sentence. Ntshalintshali was sentenced to life and 110 years’ imprisonment, and the court further declared him unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Section 103 of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000.

The acting director of Public Prosecutions, Sonja Ntuli, commends the prosecutor, the court preparation officer and the police for the meticulous collection and presentation of evidence.

“This sentence is testimony of our commitment in the fight against the scourge of gender-based violence in our communities, and it brings closure to the victims and their families,” she says.