He was convicted of offences committed in the Savannah Park and Welbedacht areas against three women aged between 15 and 31.
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A 47‑year‑old serial rapist who terrorised women across Chatsworth for nearly a decade has been handed an effective life sentence after DNA evidence finally linked him to a string of brutal attacks committed between 2013 and 2021.
The man, who has not been named, appeared in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, where the sentence was handed down.
Rapes
He was convicted of offences committed in the Chatsworth, Savannah Park and Welbedacht areas against three women aged between 15 and 31. He was known to two of the complainants.
During the trial, the court heard that in May 2013, the accused kidnapped a woman and took her to a nearby bush where he raped and sexually assaulted her before she managed to escape.
In October 2016, he raped and sexually assaulted another woman known to him. In September 2021, he kidnapped a third complainant and took her to a vacant building where he restrained and raped her, stabbing her with a broken beer bottle before releasing her.
Arrest
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said all three complainants reported the incidents to the police.
Two were referred to the Chatsworth Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), while the third was assisted at the Umlazi TCC, where they received medical treatment and psychosocial support.
Ramkisson-Kara said the accused evaded arrest for years before DNA evidence linked him to all three cases, resulting in his arrest in March 2024.
“During the trial, Prosecutor Tanuja Bechan led the evidence of nine witnesses, including the complainants, first report witnesses, medical practitioners who examined the victims, and the investigating officer,” she said.
Victims
She added that the State also presented Victim Impact Statements compiled by the complainants and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Prudence Geraud.
The statements described the lasting trauma of the attacks: one complainant reported sleeplessness, heightened fear and relocating to another area; another said the incident had fundamentally changed her life, leaving her socially withdrawn; the third told the court the ordeal had affected every aspect of her life and robbed her of the future she had envisioned.
The man received three life terms for rape, plus additional sentences totalling 60 years for kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and sexual assault. Because the sentences will run concurrently, he will serve an effective life sentence.
Conviction
Ramkisson-Kara said the court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that his particulars be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.
“This successful prosecution forms part of the NPA’s Serial Rapist Prioritisation Initiative, led by the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit in partnership with the SAPS Serial and Electronic Crime Investigative Unit,” she said.
“The initiative focuses on the identification, investigation and prosecution of serial rape cases across South Africa.”
Committed
The NPA said it remains committed to combating sexual offences and gender-based violence, noting the continued expansion of the Thuthuzela Care Centre network from 55 centres in 2020/21 to 66 currently operating nationwide.
It said these centres provide integrated medical, legal and psychosocial services to survivors of sexual violence and play a vital role in supporting victims and strengthening successful prosecutions.
