Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Lusikisiki Regional Court sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in September 2020.
In a statement on Wednesday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stated that Patrick Mapholoba Maxhakana, 23, and Sandile Nyenyiso, 29, took turns raping the 17-year-old on 4 September 2020.
“The victim was with her friends and her boyfriend, consuming liquor at a local tavern in Nkunzimbini village in the district of Lusikisiki. She received a call from Nyenyiso, to whom she had given her cellphone number earlier on that day,” said NPA regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
Nyenyiso asked the victim to accompany him to his homestead to fetch a jersey, but she refused. Later, she met with Maxhakana, whose Facebook love proposal she had also rejected.
According to the NPA, after hugging and kissing the victim, Maxhakana asked her to spend time with him, but she returned to her friend and boyfriend, who were still enjoying themselves in another room in the tavern.
“The victim later left the tavern to the boyfriend’s place. While sleeping, they were interrupted by Maxhakana and Nyenyiso who were demanding that she come out,” Tyali added.
The victim asked her boyfriend not to open the door, as she was afraid that they would hurt her, but he did.
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The two men then chased and assaulted her, threatened her with a knife, and dragged her to a nearby river, where they forced her to bathe in cold water.
“They then proceeded to take turns raping the victim, threatening to kill her if she told anyone about the incident. The following day, the victim reported her ordeal to her school principal, who took her to the police station and the Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), and the duo were arrested,” Tyali said.
The pair pleaded not guilty. However, prosecutor Siyabonga Macebo led the evidence of the victim, her friend, her boyfriend, and the medical report from the TCC to prove the pair’s guilt in court.
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, had since welcomed the sentence and commended the “meticulous presentation of a chain of evidence by the prosecutor as collected by the investigating officer and the team at the Thuthuzela Care Centre”.
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