Spate of sentences highlight trend of rape of minors in SA

ARE MINORS safe in South Africa? The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has reported five cases of children and teenagers being raped, and rapists being sentenced, in the last month alone.

The most recent sentence was for a stepfather who was raping his 12-yearold stepdaughter.

According to NPA regional spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Monica Nyuswa, the Secunda Regional Court convicted and sentenced a 52-year-old man from Embalenhle to life imprisonment for repeatedly raping his 12-yearold stepdaughter.

According to Nyuswa, the accused and the victim’s guardian were in a love relationship and lived together as a family in Embalenhle. Between 2020 and 2021, the accused would wait for the victim’s guardian to leave for work, and then rape the victim.

Last week, again in Mpumalanga, the Emalahleni Regional Court convicted and sentenced Tshepo Veli Mazibuko, 30, from Phola, to life imprisonment for the rape of a minor aged 9 years old in 2017. Nyuswa said that Mazibuko was a family friend of the victim and on the day of the incident, the accused invited the victim and her younger brother under the pretext that they were going to attend his child’s party at his residence.

“The accused locked the door, undressed the victim, and raped her; he then threatened to kill her if she reported the crime,” said Nyuswa.

In another sentencing at the Pongola Magistrate’s Court, a 32-year-old man was charged with the rape of two minor children.

Meanwhile, the Verulam Regional Court sentenced a 46-year-old man to life and five years’ imprisonment for the rape and attempted murder of a 5-year-old child in the Umhlasini area in 2021.