Man accused of raping two young girls faces a life sentence
THE MAN accused of raping two young Galeshewe girls can expect a minimum of a life sentence after he was found guilty on two counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape in the Northern Cape High Court.
Moses Monnapule, 45, lured the two girls, aged six and eight years at the time, to his shanty in Madiba Square in June 2015, where he kept them overnight and raped them.
His sentencing will take place on August 14.
Monnapule has a string of previous convictions dating back to 1984, including housebreaking, theft, rape, robbery, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, use of illegal substances, possession of drugs, housebreaking with the intent to rape and malicious damage to property, while even his legal representative admitted to the court that he was unable to identify any personal or mitigating circumstances that could lessen his sentence.
Despite pleading not guilty to all the charges, acting Northern Cape High Court Judge Vernon Smith said on Friday that Monnapule was a “blatant liar” with a selective memory.
“This is the behaviour of a person who was rational and of sober mind. He selects what he wants to remember to protect himself. Any sexual deed committed with these two young girls was unlawful,” said Smith.
The girls went missing while playing near their homes on June 27 2015, at about 6pm, and their parents and community members searched all night for them.
On the day of the incident, the two girls had seen Monnapule walking from a tavern and they asked him for R1 to buy something from the tuck shop.
Monnapule took the girls to buy biscuits at a tuck shop further on and then took them to his shanty.
After eating the biscuits he later ordered the girls to undress and then laid next to them naked under the blankets before raping them.
The following morning, upon hearing a knock on the door, he instructed the girls to get dressed and to tell their fathers and the people that were waiting outside the shack that they had slept on the floor.
They waited for about 30 minutes before Monnapule opened the door.
Smith stated that according to the gynaecological report, the injuries confirmed that the girls had been raped.
“The semen that was found on the one complainant’s underwear was a perfect match to the accused’s DNA, while the bodily fluid found on his mattress matched the second complainant’s profile.”
He indicated that there was “very little to dispute” and found Monnapule to be a “hopeless, poor witness”.
“He created the impression that he had little or no recollection of what transpired when he left the tavern and when he woke up the next morning to find the two children lying next to him in his bed.
“To my surprise, during cross-examination he could recall how many beers he drank, the size of the bottles, what he smoked at the tavern and how long he stayed there.
“He also remembered meeting the complainants near to where the one girl lives and wondered why they decided to walk home with him because he was drunk.
“He denies buying them biscuits at the tuck shop and told the court how he made a bed for them next to his sofa. He was able to recall that it was too late to take the girls to their homes as it was too dark and recalled removing his shoes before going to sleep.
“He denied that the girls were laying next to him but when confronted he informed the court that he had a memory problem.”
Smith also found it strange that Monnapule had a strong recollection of his neighbour, Connie Sethlale, who had supposedly robbed his sister of R500 whereupon he had robbed her of R200.
“He clearly remembered the testimony of the complainants. At one stage he admitted that he could have caused the injuries and later denied it.”
Senior State advocate Catherine Jansen stated that despite being granted leniency in the courts for his previous convictions, where he was released with conditions, Monnapule continued to break the law.
“From the list of previous convictions, the crimes committed show that he has a problem with his temperament, while attempts at rehabilitation have proven to be unsuccessful.”
Jansen added that one of the girl’s had to undergo surgery, spending two weeks in hospital following the incident.
She pointed out that at some point Monnapule had lived next door to one of the girls.
“She must have regarded him as an adult who should take care of her. The trust that she had was obviously misplaced.
“The girls were very young at the time of the incident and it is clear from their testimony that three years down the line, they are still emotional and visibly traumatised.”
Jansen recommended that Monnapule be registered on the list of sexual offenders and that he should be declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Monnapule’s legal representative, advocate Dries van Tonder, stated that the accused was not married and had four children, aged 22, 19, 14 and a toddler, who were all in the care of their respective mothers.
“At the time of his arrest, the accused was employed on the Expanded Public Works Programme projects where he earned R1 500 a month. He completed Grade 8 and is on medication for depression.”
Van Tonder pointed out that he had scrutinised Monnapule’s personal circumstances and was unable to identify any substantial or compelling circumstances.
“On the day of the incident he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”