Three life sentences for KZN traditional healer turned rapist

A 40-YEAR-OLD traditional healer has been sentenced to three life terms in prison for raping a 15-year-old girl.

Sfiso Emmanuel Mngadi, a traditional healer from the South Coast, was recently sentenced by the Ulundi Regional Court, police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said.

Mbele said the incidents took place in 2018 when a 15-year-old girl was taken to a traditional healer in Mahlabathini area by her parents for treatment. “The traditional healer was trusted by the parents of the victim with the hope of healing the girl but (she) was brutally raped repeatedly by the man they trusted,” Mbele said.

Mbele said Mngadi repeatedly raped the girl and recorded all the incidents on his cellphone.

Mngadi’s crimes were discovered when the aunt of the victim visited him last year and caught him watching the videos of the rape on his phone.

Mbele said a case of rape was reported and registered at the Mahlabathini SAPS in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

“The docket was transferred to the Ulundi Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit. The accused was placed under arrest and tried in court,” Mbele said.

KZN was dubbed the “rape capital” of the country for the second consecutive year according to the SAPS crime statistics measuring the second quarter of 2020/2021.

“July, August and September 2020 were dangerous months for thousands of women in this country,” Police Minister Bheki Cele said during a press conference in November last year.

A total of 8922 cases of rape were reported during this period, the minister said. “The same analysis also revealed that more people were raped in KwaZulu-Natal than any other province,” said Cele.