The Sibasa Regional Court sentenced two friends, Murendeni Siliga (22) and Omphulusa Ramakuela (27) from Muledane village outside Thohoyandou, to life imprisonment, following the kidnapping and rape of an 18-year-old girl in 2017.
On 6 September 2017, Ramakuela ran into Siliga, who was accompanying his girlfriend to study in preparation for her trial final exams. Ramakuela was apparently not happy with Siliga's relationship with the girl, and they started arguing. Ramakuela then dragged the girl into nearby bushes, where he undressed her before raping her. When he had finished, they took the girl to Siliga's homestead, where Ramakuela took R7 from the girl to buy cigarettes. Both men raped the girl repeatedly throughout the night. In the morning, they let her go but warned that they would kill her if she told anyone what had happened.
Siliga and Ramakuela were arrested on 9 September 2017. In addition to the life sentence for the rape, they also received five years for kidnapping and three years for robbery. The court ordered that the sentence of kidnapping and robbery run concurrently with the life imprisonment.
According to the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Limpopo, Ms Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, Ramakuela argued during the trial that he was in a love relationship with the victim and had had consensual sex with her, while Siliga claimed that Ramakuela had forced him to rape her.
"The court rejected both versions from the two accused. A witness, who had claimed to know about the relationship between Ramakuela and the victim, never came to court to testify, even though the defence tried to call the witness several times. The court found that the State has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted both the two accused," Malabi-Dzhangi said.
In aggravation of a harsher sentence, the public prosecutor, Mr Steven Muavha, argued that for a new civilisation that upholds respect for women and their dignity, the hardcore criminal who pounced on vulnerable members of society should be removed permanently from the community. He further urged the court to consider the trauma suffered by the victim by looking at the accused's inhuman actions, and pleaded with the court not to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Ivy Thenga, welcomed the sentence and applauded the state prosecutor for a successful prosecution and for bringing justice to the victim.