Serial rapist sentenced to five life terms plus 165 years in Polokwane
JUSTICE
After terrorizing the Zebediela community for nearly a decade, 42-year-old serial rapist Ramoadi William Minyuku has been sentenced to five life terms plus 165 years imprisonment. DNA evidence finally linked him to multiple violent assaults, including the rape of minors, bringing closure to a community that lived in fear.
Image: File picture
A 42-year-old serial rapist will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was handed five life sentences plus 165 years.
The Polokwane High Court sentenced Ramoadi William Minyuku for a reign of terror that saw women in Zebediela kidnapped, raped, and violated in their own homes.
Provincial spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said Minyuku’s spree of violent acts dates back to November 2014, when he broke into a home and raped a 12-year-old girl. The nightmare continued between May and June 2016, when he repeatedly stalked the same child, threatening her with a knife and raping her on separate occasions as she ran everyday errands.
During this period, he also targeted another young girl, viciously raped her and struck her with a beer bottle, leaving a trail of trauma and fear in his wake.
“The rapes took place at an abandoned house. The accused continued with his heinous crime and raped another 17-year-old victim after assaulting her with beer bottles. He met the girl on the street, dragged her to the nearby bushes and raped her multiple times.”
Mashaba said the cases were at first logged against an “unknown suspect,” leaving victims without answers for years. In 2024, the investigations were handed over to the Provincial Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation Unit (SECI), where Sergeant Mokgaetsi Predict Sema painstakingly pieced the evidence together.
“Using DNA analysis, Sema was able to finally identify and arrest Minyuku, bringing an end to a manhunt that had haunted the Zebediela community for nearly a decade,” he added.
The court imposed 26 separate counts, handing down sentences ranging from 5 to 15 years alongside five life terms.
Mashaba explained that while most of the sentences will run concurrently, the effective punishment amounts to life imprisonment.
The court further declared Minyuku unfit ever to possess a firearm. He remained behind bars throughout the trial and was formally sentenced on September 19.
Meanwhile, Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe welcomed the sentence and applauded the investigating team for their diligent work in ensuring the perpetrator is removed from society permanently.
The Star
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