10 life terms, 235 years behind bars for Inanda rapist

NINETEEN women, who had bonded through the trial of the man who had raped them, embraced and cried as he was sentenced to 10 life terms and an additional 235 years in the Durban High Court yesterday.

Some had waited more than eight years for justice. They said they were relieved and vindicated by the hefty sentence, an assurance that Amos Ganyeni Ngobeni, 30, would never hurt another woman again.

They said if it was not for a new team of detectives who took over scores of unsolved rape cases at Inanda Police Station in 2016, more women would have been raped.

Ngobeni claimed the women were prostitutes and he was their pimp. He said they had consensual sex with him when they could not pay his R100 fee.

Handing down sentence, Judge Shyam Gyanda slated delays in the forensics and DNA results, saying this had led to Ngobeni’s release twice.

Victims alerted the police after they saw him in Inanda, years after they were raped. Although he was arrested, delays in obtaining DNA results meant Ngobeni was released twice.

Judge Gyanda said the incapacity of the police contributed to the many unsolved rape cases and rapists getting away with raping more women.

Judge Gyanda apologised to the women for the trauma they went through. According to the victim impact statements, the trauma led some to drugs and Ngobeni infected some with HIV.

The judge sentenced Ngobeni to life imprisonment terms for each of the rapes of the minor victims and for the rape of six other adult victims, who were raped more than once. He imposed 15-year terms for each rape of the six other victims.

“Imposing the minimum sentence of 10 years on each count would be a mockery to the victims,” Judge Gyanda said.

Ngobeni was sentenced to a further 25 years for housebreaking with intent to rape, 50 years for kidnapping, 25 years for attempted robbery and 45 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.