POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Regional Court has sentenced a 26-year-old man, Martin Tebogo Mamabolo from Mankweng, to an effective 40 year jail term for two counts of rape that he committed between 2014 and 2015.
His modus operandi included luring his victims to Unit F in Mankweng by advertising RDP homes.
According to police spokesperson, Col Moatshe Ngoepe, Mamabolo raped a 57-year-old woman after she agreed to meet him in Polokwane.
“Upon their arrival, one of the victims was approached by Mamabolo’s nephew and the duo departed to Mankweng intending to view the RDP house on sale. They arrived at the house and she rested in one of the rooms while waiting for Mamabolo. He then arrived and forcefully raped her,” Ngoepe explained.
The second rape occurred after Mamabolo persuaded a middle aged woman to have a look at the property “for sale”.
“Mamabolo took her to the house and while inspecting it, he dragged her to one of the rooms and raped her.”
Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba, has warmly welcomed Mamabolo’s incarceration saying that police hope his sentence will serve as a deterrent to all perpetrators.
Raeesa Sempe is a Caxton Award-winning Digital Editor with nine years’ experience in the industry. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand and started her journey as a community journalist for the Polokwane Review in 2015. She then became the online journalist for the Review in 2016 where she excelled in solidifying the Review’s digital footprint through Facebook lives, content creation and marketing campaigns. Raeesa then moved on to become the News Editor of the Bonus Review in 2019 and scooped up the Editorial Employee of the Year award in the same year. She is the current Digital Editor of the Polokwane Review-Observer, a position she takes pride in. Raeesa is married with one child and enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music and baking – when she has the time. “I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon." – Tom Stoppard
