Margate rapist jailed for life
The man convicted of rape was out on parole for a previous rape conviction.
AFTER a year of living in fear, the woman who was repeatedly raped by Samkelo Jula (28), can sleep a little easier knowing he has been jailed for life.
Jula was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Port Shepstone Regional Court last week. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The hefty sentence has been welcomed by Margate Police Station’s cluster commander, Brigadier Morris Moodley.
On the day of the incident, in October last year, the victim was walking from a tavern to the Margate taxi rank when she was confronted by Jula, in Uplands Road. The court heard that Jula was at that time on parole for a previous rape conviction.
He threatened the woman at knifepoint and then raped her. He forced her to accompany him to the beach where she was again raped. Jula dragged her to the basement of an apartment complex in Marine Drive where he raped her for the third time.
He fell asleep and the woman managed to flee in the early hours of the next day. She ran to the Margate Police Station and led police to the scene where they found the sleeping Jula.
He was arrested by the police who also recovered the knife he had used to threaten the victim.
The case docket was assigned to Constable Sibongile Ngcobo of the Margate Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS), for investigation.
Brigadier Morris Moodley commended Constable Ngcobo for the high standard of investigation. “Our streets will be safer without men like Jula on the prowl, preying on innocent women. The sentence meted out by the court is fitting indeed and will send out a strong message to other criminals,” said Brig Moodley.
