Officer uses her wits and charm to nab rapist
● Tzaneen police officer Glender Mathebula was recently honoured for her stellar work in catching rapists, but one case will always stand out for her — the two months during which she used a “sweet voice” to pose as a dangerous predator’s potential girlfriend.
The odds were stacked against Mathebula when she started investigating Limpopo villager Piet Motolla — who had assaulted a woman with a bottle and raped her — but so convincing was her act that when he was arrested the love-struck rapist said to her: “You’re a police officer? Baby, when I come back, we will be together again.”
Motolla, who is now in his thirties, was sentenced to life behind bars and another 15 years for rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances after Mathebula’s detective skills linked him to another crime.
He would not have been caught but for Mathebula’s determination, bravery and ingenuity. During this year’s 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence from November 25 to December 10, the South African Police Service (SAPS) paid tribute to Mathebula, 40, for her work in the family violence, child protection and sexual offences investigations unit in Tzaneen, Limpopo.
Mathebula’s successes include securing several life terms and 305 years behind bars for rapists in Limpopo, as well as winning the “Best Detective of the Year” award in the province for her work on the Motolla case in 2011.
“The Piet one [case] stood out [for] me. I was brave in the sense that I didn’t say he would come to me armed, I just told myself: ‘I am going to get what I want.’ That is what I wanted — to arrest him,” Mathebula told the Sunday Times.
“One other thing that made me want him the most is the family of the victim. When I went to visit, the brother of the victim said he didn’t know why they had called the police because we were useless and wouldn’t do anything.
“I said: ‘You don’t know me. I specialise in this. I don’t know what you have experienced with the police in your area, [but] I am here to work and bring justice for your sister. I know this guy is not known, but I will find him.’”
But how do you track down an unknown masked man who attacked a woman in the dark? Mathebula’s first lead came after she used police resources to trace the victim’s stolen mobile phone through cellular network towers.
“[They] showed that a new number was being used. That is when I started to call. I would call him and change my voice into a sweet one, and he was charmed by my voice. He asked what my name was. I told him Fikile. He didn’t ask further questions and just fell for it,” she said.
This was the start of a telephonic relationship between the two in which the suspect was convinced he had found a new lover.
“We called each other often, and he would even buy me airtime and call me ‘baby’. He always spoke about how he couldn’t wait to see me. He said he loved my voice and melted whenever I spoke to him.
“I even had to explain to my husband that I was working on a case, and that he shouldn’t be surprised by the calls, as Motolla liked to call at night,” she said.
About two months later, Motolla finally asked to meet her in person, saying he wanted to introduce her to his family.
“I arranged at the office for backup in case something happened,” Mathebula explains. “We went to the village near where he wanted to meet. I went to the taxi rank and got a taxi and sent him the number plate of the taxi so that he [would] be able to see it coming.”
To get into character, Mathebula dressed in “hot pants”, sported a fresh hairstyle, and wore sunglasses.
“I had to show him a hot girl. I described to him on the phone what I [would be] wearing, since we had never met. He also told me what he was wearing,” she said, laughing.
Mathebula got off at the bus stop where Motolla was waiting for his blind date. Upon seeing her, he waved at her to come over.
“I went to him. We hugged. Immediately after hugging, my members arrived and he got arrested,” said Mathebula.
But Motolla apparently still had hopes for the two of them.
“When he was being arrested, he said: ‘Ah, Fikile, you’re a police officer? Baby, when I come back, we will be together again.’ He even said he would show me where his phone [was], as he had taken it in for repairs,” she said.
His DNA test results positively linked him to the rape, and his phone showed he had been involved in another unsolved case, where his DNA was also a match.
“When I found [Motolla], the victim’s brother was the first to call me to say: ‘Mathebula, we are grateful. I am sorry for attacking you on the first day you met me. When people lose hope in justice, they get emotional.’
“I have become close with them. They sometimes check on me. Most of my victims have become family.”