Simanga Mugabe Khumalo (31), also known as Smanga Mazibuko, was sentenced to a double life sentence last week, which was handed down by the Ladysmith Regional Court.
Khumalo stood accused of two counts of rape.
The first rape took place during November 2013 when the accused lured his victim to a donga in the Peacetown area and raped her. His victim was 13 years old at the time. The horrific crime was witnessed by three of the victim’s friends.
Two days later, detectives from the Ladysmith Family Violence, Child Protection & Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit arrested and detained the suspect.
Khumalo appeared before court and was remanded into custody. He later applied for and was released on bail.
Before his trial could start he raped someone else. This time his victim was 19. She was taken to his house, where he raped her. He then threatened her life in an attempt to remain free.
The incident was only reported to police four months later. When the case was reported, Ladysmith FCS detectives immediately started tracing the man, knowing that he was out on bail.
Police ensured that Khumalo was behind bars the very next evening, where he remained in custody until his cases were finalised in court on November 4.
The witnesses in the cases gave outstanding evidence that, coupled with the evidence from the victims, sealed the fate of the accused. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in each of the rape cases. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The cases were investigated by Warrant Officer MJ Masingemi and Constable NR Mazibuko from the Ladysmith FCS Unit. The two detectives would like to place on record their gratitude to Ladysmith Regional Court prosecutor Mrs A Singh, who guided and assisted them throughout the investigation.
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