Joburg man guilty of 54 violent offences, including rape, kidnapping, murder and robbery

Sibusiso Ndlovu has been found guilty of 54 violent offences, ranging from rape, kidnapping and assault, in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg sitting in Palmridge Magistrate’s Court.

The 29-year-old man faced 62 counts relating to various charges, including 19 counts of rape, 10 counts of kidnapping, one count of murder and nine counts of housebreaking stemming from 2015.

His youngest victim is 12 years old.

While judgment was being delivered on Thursday, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane tweeted that Ndlovu decided to leave the proceedings, telling the judge to continue without him.

Mjonondwane welcomed the conviction, saying “it coincides with 16 days of Activism, which accused disregarded by committing some of the offences during this period”.

She added the conviction “serves to send a message that violence perpetrated against women and children will never be tolerated”.

When Ndlovu’s trial started in October, he pleaded not guilty to all 62 counts.

But according to court papers, he was linked to the crimes after his DNA was taken from various victims.

Ndlovu was accused of raping a 12-year-old girl, before proceeding to rob the house in Boksburg.

This seems to have been a pattern; Ndlovu and a co-perpetrators seemingly broke into houses, robbed it of its contents and raped the women who lived there.

In one instance, he was accused of shooting and killing a woman after raping her.

On October 29, 2015, Ndlovu and an accomplice were accused of breaking into a house in Germiston and then demanded money from a woman living there.

When she could not meet their demands, they forced her to the main house on the property so that she could request for the door to be opened for her.

Court papers detailed how they proceeded to rob the house after which they “plugged the iron in and burned [another] complainant … with the hot iron on his foot” and raped the two women living in the house.

Ndlovu is also said to have forced his victims to nearby fields or parks where he and a co-perpetrator took turns raping them.

“It is not the first time that we are confronted with a perpetrator that raped victims in full view of their partners and or family members. The NPA will continue to advocate for the removal of perpetrators of heinous crimes from society,” Mjonondwane said.

Sentencing for Ndlovu is to be handed down December 10.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.