Long terms in jail for rapists

The High Court in Thohoyandou sentenced two young men to long jail sentences after they were found guilty of kidnapping and raping a pregnant woman.

The case was finalised last Thursday (9 April).

Acting Judge Maele Mushasha sentenced Mashudu Madzhie (22) and Rofhiwa Mavhungu (23), both from Tshituni village in Nzhelele, to 25 years' imprisonment after they were found guilty on count one of rape. They raped a 31-year-old woman in front of her eight-year-old son on 7 April 2013, after they had kidnapped her and her son from the Rabali bus stop.

It was testified that on the evening of the crime, the two accused approached the victim and her son at the bus stop and ordered them to leave with them. When they reached a certain house, the accused forced the window open and broke the door. The woman was raped in front of her son and released the following morning.

Apart from the jail sentence for rape, the two accused were also sentenced to two years' imprisonment for the kidnapping of the mother and another two years for the kidnapping her son. They were also sentenced to two years' imprisonment on the charge of housebreaking.

The sentences will run concurrently.

Date:16 April 2015

By: Ndivhuwo Musetha

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