Predator receives life for child’s rape
A regional court delivered a life sentence to a man who brutally raped an 11-year-old girl in Madadeni. Find out how his past crimes led to his conviction.
Elphius Elias Shabangu (38) whom the Madadeni Regional Court described as cruel and inhumane has been jailed for life for the 2024 rape of an 11-year-old girl.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional NPA spokesperson, said the little gril was raped near Theku Plaza in Madadeni while she and her siblings were selling sugarcane by the roadside during a visit to an aunt in the area.
Shabangu approached the siblings asking them to go to a nearby shop, leaving him alone with the 11-year-old. He then forced her to a vacant house nearby, where he raped her twice before fleeing.
When her siblings returned to the stand, they found that the victim was missing.
Unfamiliar with the area, the victim struggled to find her way back to her aunt’s house until a community member assisted her.
“Upon her return, she immediately told her aunt what had happened. Her aunt examined her, observing blood on her thighs and quickly reported the incident to the police, before the young girl was taken to Madadeni Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) for support,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Since Shabangu was unknown to the complainant, he was initially able to evade justice.
However, a few months later, Shabangu was arrested in Mpumalanga in connection with the rape of two other minor children.
His DNA ultimately linked him to the Madadeni case which led to his arrest.
He pleaded guilty to all three counts of rape and while in Mpumalanga, he had already received two life sentences.
In the Madadeni Regional Court, Prosecutor Khethiwe Kunene presented compelling testimony from the complainant’s aunt, who told the court her niece had become withdrawn and fearful since the incident.
Shabangu was give a life sentence and declared him unfit to possess a firearm. His name will be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.
Shabangu’s attorney applied for the Madadeni life sentence to run concurrently with his Mpumalanga sentences. However, the presiding officer denied the application, stating that this would make Shabangu eligible for parole after only 25 years.
The court emphasised that Shabangu did not deserve this opportunity, given his cruel and inhumane actions towards young, innocent children.
“The imposition of the life sentence and the court’s refusal of Shabangu’s application underscores the gravity of his crimes. Sexual offences will not be tolerated in our society and will be met with the full force of the law. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold the rule of law and pursue justice for victims of crime, especially the most vulnerable,” concluded Ramkisson-Kara.
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