The Estcourt Regional Court has sentenced rapist and robber Thokozane ‘Vodacom’ Nqubuka (35) to life plus 55 years for crimes committed on July 15 and 16, 2022.

Northern Natal News reports that armed with a gun and wearing a face mask, Nqubuka burst into a home in Estcourt on July 15, 2022. He robbed a female occupant of her cellphone and raped her throughout the night.

Nqubuka fled the scene in the morning. While making his getaway, he encountered a man and woman on their way home from work.

He held them at gunpoint and forced the man to lie on the ground. He then began sexually assaulting the woman. However, the woman managed to fight him off and eventually gained control of the gun. She attacked him with the weapon, and with the help of her male companion, they removed Nqubuka’s mask, allowing them to identify him.

A car stopped, and the driver got out, calling Nqubuka by name and asking what was happening. Nqubuka jumped into the car, and they drove off. The victims took down the car’s registration number, and the driver was located soon afterward.

The driver told police that Nqubuka claimed the complainants were assaulting him, which led to their departure. Nqubuka was later found and arrested.

The case was recently finalised, and Nqubuka was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape, 15 years for each of three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, five years for sexual assault, and five years for pointing a firearm. He will effectively serve life imprisonment and has been declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The NPA welcomed the successful conviction and sentencing of this dangerous criminal.

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