LIMPOPO – The Polokwane High Court handed down a life imprisonment, plus 120 years, to Phineas Makhobathe (31) for seven counts of rape, while his co-accused, Phillip Phoshoko (19) was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for rape and theft.
You might also want to read: Lengthy jail term for accused in Letsitele farm attack
Police spokesperson Lt Col Moatshe Ngoepe says the duo terrorized members of the Mankweng community between 2015 and 2016 where they would kidnap women, drag them to nearby bushes or school yards, rob them and rape them.
In Thohoyandou, 26-year-old Tshimangadzo Mbushi Radzilani was given two life sentences plus eight years by the Thohoyandou High Court for the following offences:
– Life imprisonment for murder.
– Life imprisonment for rape.
– Eight years imprisonment for defeating the ends of justice.
“These jail terms follow an incident which occured in 2016 when the accused forcefully took a six year old girl, while her mother was not at home, raped and strangled her. After the whole ordeal, the suspect hid her lifeless body in the nearby bushes and fled the scene in a village outside Thohoyandou,” Ngoepe explained.
Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba has welcomed these long jail terms and also commended the Thohoyandou and Polokwane detectives, especially the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units, on a job well done.
“We hope that by removing these three criminals from our streets will serve as a deterrent to all the criminals out there. All criminals who are still engaged in any form of criminal activities, especially crimes against women and children including sexual offences, will be dealt with mercilessly,” concluded General Ledwaba.
