Child rapist gets life sentence

Co-accused sentenced to 24 years in prison for trafficking and exploitation

The four convicted traffickers seemed unmoved by their sentences

Harun Mohammed wept uncontrollably as he was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl in Whittlesea in 2016.

Komani regional court magistrate Nonsami Mshunqane also sentenced each of his four co-accused to 24 years in prison for trafficking the child.

Xolelwa Garhishe, Yolanda Klaas, Zintle Tom and Nwabisa Kaziwa were sentenced to 12 years for trafficking in persons for sexual purposes and 12 years for benefiting from sexual exploitation of a child.

Before the sentencing they handed over letters to one of their friends in the gallery and told her to give them to their mothers.

The four convicted traffickers seemed unmoved by their sentences and when they were sent to the cells they lifted their hands and used their fingers to make a figure eight gesture known to be used by the 28s gang in Cape Town.

As Mshunqane read out the sentences, friends of the sex traffickers started crying while the victim’s mother and and friends cheered in the gallery.

Mshunqane said all five were deemed unfit to possess firearms, to work with children and would be registered in the list of sex offenders.

“The accused mitigated that they are all first time offenders, have been in custody since 2016, accused one to four have no formal education and (Mohamed) has a family which he takes care of including two minors. However, they are convicted of a serious offence of human trafficking and child rape,” he said.

He said a child’s rights, dignity and freedom of association were violated.

“A child belongs to the vulnerable group of our society. She was forced to associate with the four accused and the prostitution business (where she) suffered harm and abuse.

“Accused five raped her in the process of being trafficked,” added Mshunqane.

She said the child was exposed to sexually transmitted diseases which she was being treated for.

“The victim was assaulted and the accused showed no remorse throughout the trial.

The aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors of the accused.

The accused being in custody since 2016 is not an exceptional and compelling circumstance,” he said.

Mshunqane said there were no mitigating factors to allow the court to deviate from the minimum sentence of life in prison for the rape of a minor.

“The offence is serious and that should reflect on the sentence. Mohammed took advantage of a child who wanted care and protection, instead he abused. The victim is a member of society and her interests must be considered.

The public expected the justice system to protect society, the magistrate said.

He said the fact that the accused did not testify in mitigation of sentence, and let their lawyers say they were remorseful did not ring true.

“The dignity and self confidence of the victim were violated. These monstrous deeds will haunt the victim for the rest of her life,” he said.

The mother of the victim welcomed the sentence and said it would be a lesson to others.

Khula community development project Petros Majola called for harsher sentences for child rapists.

What’s shocking in this is that women were involved in trafficking the child,” he said.