Staff Reporter
Two men convicted of multiple cases of rape have been handed life sentences by different courts as the country grapples with growing cases of gender-based violence.
Muzi Wiseman Sithebe Twala, 34, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Free State High Court sitting at the Thabo Mofutsanyane Secure Justice Centre in Phuthaditjhaba on Tuesday for a series of rape cases as well as murder and theft convictions.
Sebuti Dintwe, 20, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bultfontein Regional Court for raping a 21-year-old woman last year.
Twala’s crime spree is said to have started back in 2011 until 2018 when he was arrested.
He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each for four counts of rape, 12 years for murder and three years each for seven counts of theft.
The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, meaning he could spend a minimum of 25 years in prison when he will be eligible for parole for the life imprisonment term.
It was discovered during trial that between the period August 2011 and February 2018 the accused threatened complainants when fetching cattle from the grazing fields, armed with a panga and knobkerrie, within Intabazwe near Harrismith.
He raped two boys during his reign of terror and took their cellphones.
In another incident, Twala met two friends at Tshiame.
He offered to carry their bags but later demanded money from them and took their property.
He then raped the woman while holding a knife.
In January 2018, Twala waylaid a learner coming from school near the Tshiame Cemetery.
He grabbed her from behind while threatening her with a firearm.
He then raped her and took her cellphone.
In February the same year, he attacked a couple sitting in a car parked in an open space in Intabazwe near the N3 in Harrismith.
He shot at the couple forcing them to run in different directions.
He pursued the woman after shooting the male victim with the intention to rape and rob her.
He then took her back to the car and raped her before taking her cellphone.
The victim ran home and called the police and an ambulance.
Twala was positively linked with DNA in all the cases.
Dintwe was found guilty of raping his victim twice on September 28, 2019 in Phahameng township in Bultfontein.
According to the state, the woman decided to go to one of the taverns in the area to look for her brother.
Realising that her brother had already left the tavern, she decided to buy herself some drinks.
But before she could even sit, an unknown man pulled her from behind and requested to talk to her but she refused.
The man dragged her outside the tavern and took her to a certain shack where he raped her.
He again dragged her to another shack where he raped her for the second time and left.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to the arrest of Dintwe.