The Viljoenskroon Magistrates Court has sentenced a 40-year-old pastor from Rammolotsi township to life imprisonment after he was convicted of raping a 50-year-old woman several times over an eight-month period when he kept her in his house against her will.
Magistrate Sbongile Mathambeka sentenced the man, Office Samson Choniswa, to an additional five years for kidnapping, four years for theft and another five years for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said on August 31, 2020, the complainant was at a hiking spot in the town, trying to get transport to Johannesburg after burying her late mother.
“Choniswa told the complainant that he could organise transport for her to Johannesburg, but they first must go to his house and the complainant agreed,” said Shuping in a statement.
“He told her, at the house, that he wants her to be his wife, but she refused.
“He refused to let her go and kept her in the house for eight months against her will.
“He raped her several times and even assaulted her. He took her cellular phone and R1 800 cash.”
The complainant managed to escape on March 11, 2021 by hiding in a neighbour’s house after the pastor asked her to get food from his sister’s house.
On the following day, she hitchhiked to Potchefstroom Police Station where she reported the case to the police.
In court, Choniswa denied raping the complainant and claimed that the act was consensual.
He said it was the complainant who came to him asking to be his wife but state prosecutor Siphokazi Tunzi told the court that the injuries sustained by the complainant were an indication that she was held against her will.
In aggravation, Tunzi told the court that the accused failed to show that substantial and compelling circumstances existed for the imposition of a lesser sentence and requested the court to sentence Choniswa to life imprisonment for rape.
Magistrate Mathambeka then sentenced Choniswa to life imprisonment for rape, five years for kidnapping, four years for theft and another five years for assault with intent to cause to grievous bodily harm.
The sentences will run concurrently. – Staff Reporter