A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the repeated rape of an 11-year-old girl, highlighting the ongoing fight against gender-based violence in South Africa.
Durban — The Madadeni Regional Court, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, sentenced a 24-year-old man to life imprisonment for the rape of an 11-year-old girl.
KZN National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the rape happened on diverse occasions, in November 2023.
Ramkisson-Kara said the girl lived with her cousins, grandmother, and grandmother’s boyfriend (the accused). On November 2, 2023, the girl was alone at home with the accused because her grandmother was at work and her cousins were in school. She did not go to school because she was done with her exams.
On the day of the rape, the accused called her to his room and raped her. The following day, he raped her again when they were alone.
Both times, he threatened to assault her if she told anyone about the rapes.
The following day, when the girl realised she would be alone again with the accused, she confided in her cousins about the rapes
The matter was reported to the police and the accused was subsequently arrested. The girl was taken to the Madadeni Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) for the necessary support.
Ramkisson-Kara said that in aggravation of the sentence, Prosecutor Cindy-Lee Alberts led the girl’s testimony who told the court the incident left her emotionally scarred and fearful.
Meanwhile, the Esikhawini Regional Court sentenced Mduduzi Ndlovu to life imprisonment for raping a five-year-old girl in November 2023.
Ramkisson-Kara said that on the day of the incident, the girl was playing with her friend when Ndlovu saw them. When the friend left the girl, Ndlovu approached her and raped her. The girl got away from him and ran home. She reported the incident to her mother and grandmother.
The girl was taken to the Ngwelezane TCC for the necessary support.
Ramkisson-Kara said that in court, Prosecutor Kamogelo Nkwatle led the evidence of the girl, and the evidence of her mother and grandmother, who were the first to report. The court also heard evidence from the doctor who examined the girl.
Ramkisson-Kara said that in aggravation of the sentence, Nkwatle handed in the girl’s Victim Impact Statement facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Ntombi Chonco.
In her statement, the girl expressed her feelings through two drawings. The first one is where she is smiling, depicting how she felt before the offence. The latter drawing was of her crying. She said that after the rapes, she is always sad and is afraid to go outside.
In both cases, the court declared the men unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that their names be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders. The court declared them unsuitable to work with children.
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