A traditional healer from Mamelodi in Pretoria has been sentenced to life imprisonment after the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court found him guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl who had been sent to his home to collect medication.

The court also ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders and declared him unfit to work with children or possess a firearm, as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reiterated its stance on holding perpetrators of gender-based violence and crimes against children accountable.

According to NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court handed down a life imprisonment sentence to traditional healer Lesiba Victor Marosa (49) from Mamelodi.

Marosa was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl.

Mahanjana said the court further ordered that his name be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders and declared him unfit to work with children and to possess a firearm.

“The incident occurred on 2 February 2020, when the minor’s mother sent her to Marosa’s residence in Mamelodi to collect medication. Upon arrival, Marosa took her into his consultation room and asked if the medication he had previously provided for her abdominal pain was effective.

“When she replied that it was only slightly helping, he placed herbs on his fingers, undressed her, and inserted his fingers into her vagina. He then told her that the medication needed to penetrate further into her abdomen to work properly. Marosa proceeded to rape her by inserting his penis into her vagina. The minor pushed him away, got dressed, and returned home.”

Mahanjana said the girl wrote a letter to her mother the following morning detailing the incident and placed it in her mother’s bag.

“While at work, the mother read the letter, informed the minor’s father, who collected the child from school and questioned her. After the minor confirmed what had happened, her father opened a case with the police.”

Marosa was arrested the same day. In court, Marosa pleaded not guilty and denied committing the offence.

She said State Prosecutor Sfiso Hlongwane presented compelling evidence that proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

“During sentencing proceedings, Marosa, through his legal representative, requested the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment. He argued that he is a first-time offender, has a wife, four children, and two grandchildren who are financially dependent on him, suffers from lung disease contracted in prison, and grew up without a father.”

Mahanjana said Prosecutor Hlongwane opposed the request, emphasising that Marosa had committed a serious and prevalent offence in South Africa.

Not only did he highlight the accused’s lack of remorse, his abuse of a position of trust as a traditional healer, but as a father of daughters, he should have protected the minor rather than exploiting her vulnerability.

Mahanjana said in his delivering sentence, Magistrate Ruby Matlaila agreed with the State.

She found that Marosa showed no remorse and had committed a very serious, prevalent crime.

“The behaviour of the traditional healer shows the court that the lengthy sentences handed down to others for similar offences did not deter him,” Matlaila said.

The magistrate rejected the claim that his fatherless upbringing contributed to the crime and described rape as one of the most heinous offences, leaving permanent, invisible scars on victims.

She found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The NPA reaffirms its unwavering commitment to holding perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV) and crimes against children fully accountable.

“We remain steadfast in our pursuit of justice for victims and their families.”