Durban High Court convicted and sentenced 32-year-old Nkosinathi Mthembu to prison by giving him five life terms and a total of 100 years’ in prison.
Mthembu had been terrorising the female residents near the Tongaat Hullett Estates from March 2014 to December 2015.
Yesterday, he was convicted and sentenced for ten cases with a string of charges including rape, sexual assault, robbery, theft, housebreaking and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
His modus operandi was to lie in wait for his victims and pounce on them while they were asleep after he had made sure that there are no males at the victim’s home.
Women in Tongaat had been living in fear for almost two years during Mthembu’s serial incidents until Tongaat investigators apprehended him with the help of Crime Intelligence and Visible Policing and Sergeant TM Govender from crime prevention.
The Courier reported last year that 15 cases from April 2014 to March 2015 of a similar nature were reported by the rape survivors who all gave the same descriptions of the suspect. An identity kit was compiled and distributed to the communities in and around the Tongaat area.
SAPS spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said because the man did not spend two nights in one place, the task of finding him was a challenge.
“After months of hard work by Provincial Crime Intelligence working together with Tongaat SAPS and the local community the suspect was finally arrested,” said Zwane.
He was found in possession of some stolen goods, believed to have been taken during the house robberies he was wanted in connection with.
Mthembu was tried at Verulam Regional Court after his arrest and his case was transferred to the Durban High Court where he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for each case of rape and a total of 100 years for other charges.
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni applauded Tongaat police for their determination in solving the cases by linking the evidence through samples, taking a well-prepared docket to court which led to a successful prosecution.
“This heinous criminal will serve the rest of his life behind bars, which is a good consequence for all other rapists like him. Criminals in his calibre deserve to be in prison indefinitely,” she said.
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