Two more life terms for serial rapist

Already serving a life term for raping two women in 2020, Khulile Mbobela has been handed two more life sentences after pleading guilty to raping two other women in 2019.

Yesterday, Mbobela, 29, admitted to raping two women between March and May 2019 in Central, Gqeberha.

In his plea explanation read out in the Gqeberha high court by his Legal Aid SA lawyer, advocate Louisa Roux, Mbobela admitted that though he had been under the influence of drugs, he knew rape was wrong.

He was positively linked to both incidents through DNA.

Mbobela admitted that on March 22 2019, he had approached a 24-year-old woman walking along Western Road and forced her into a dilapidated building nearby.

There, he raped her and robbed her of her cellphone.

In the second incident, on May 11 2019, Mbobela admitted he had approached a 22year-old woman in Western Road.

He accompanied her to St George’s Park, where he raped her and stole her tablet computer.

After the court accepted his guilty plea, Mbobela was sentenced to five years on both counts of kidnapping, 15 years for both counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and life for each count of rape.

The sentences will run concurrently with that of life.

In February last year, Mbobela was convicted of raping and attempting to rob two women in Central on March 4 2020.

For that incident, he was sentenced to life on three counts of rape, three years for attempted robbery and five years collectively for two counts of kidnapping.

He received an additional 20 years for a fourth count of rape.