POLOKWANE : The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba is delighted about the life term imprisonment meted to a 24 year old man by the Regional Court in Mankweng, this week.
The accused raped his minor girl causin aged 10 at one of the villages in Ga-Dikgale area of the Mankweng Policing area outside the City of Polokwane, during December 2017. The victim and her siblings were visiting their grandmother during the festive holidays as their annual routine excersise.
The victim was sleeping alone in one of the bedrooms during this day when the accused noticed that there was no one else at home and suddenly entered the room and raped her. Afterwards, he threatened the minor not to tell anyone about the incident which she complied with.
The accused continued with his evil deeds and attempted to rape the minor the following morning while asleep and when he was busy taking off her pyjamas, he was disturbed by family members who did not notice anything. Another incident occurred at the backroom of the house while the other children were playing outside the residence. The accused raped the victim while asleep and she was also threatened not to tell anyone.
At a later stage, the victim managed to reveal the ordeals to a friend who informed her mother who ultimately reported the incidents to the Police.
The case was then assigned to Detective Sergeant Chuene Selolo attached to the Saps Polokwane Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit who commenced with the initial investigations. The manhunt for the suspect ensued until he was apprehended on 04 April 2018 and granted R2000.00 bail.
Following the meticulous investigations conducted by this member, the accused was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for two counts of rapes plus the additional eight (8) years imprisonment for attempted rape. The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The Provincial Commissioner also complimented the FCS Unit in their endeavor to fight against incidents of sexual offences in this Province. “All perpetrators of these crimes are warned to refrain from their heinous acts and not so, they will be dealt with harshly and without compromise and permanently removed from the society” , concluded General Ledwaba.
