Man sentenced to life for raping minors in KZN

The Ezakheni Regional Court has sentenced a 43-year-old man to double life imprisonment for the rape of two minor girls in Ekuvukeni, KZN,  in 2019.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says the man is one of the girl’s uncle and was dating the other girl’s mother.

The girls were aged seven and eight at the time.

“On the day of the incident, the girls were playing together at one of their homes when the lights went out. The accused went to them and showed them pornographic videos on his phone. He then asked them to go to the other girl’s house (his girlfriend’s house), where he raped them in the presence of each other. He then threatened them not to tell anyone what had happened,” she says.

Ramkisson-Kara says one girl eventually confided in her aunt, who contacted the other girl’s family.

“The families opened a case at the police station and the accused handed himself in a few days later. In the state’s case, Prosecutor Cwayita Ngcongo led the evidence of the girls, the first report and the J88 forms outlining medical evidence. In their evidence, both girls told the court that they were afraid of the accused, and they had trusted him as he was known to them.

“Since the accused was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for each of the rapes, he will effectively serve life imprisonment as the sentences will run concurrently. In addition to the sentence, he was declared unfit to possess a firearm and the court ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders,” she says.

The NPA commends the work done by the prosecution and the police.

“We are mandated to fight for justice on behalf of the victims of crime, especially the most vulnerable being children,” she says.