Patrick Bheki Nkosi, 60, was sentenced to serve two life terms after the Vryheid Regional Court found him guilty of raping two boy children and giving them R2 for their silence. | Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has welcomed the double life sentence handed to a child rapist teacher in the province.
DA KZN Education spokesperson Sakhile Mngadi said the party welcomes the double life sentence handed down by the Vryheid Regional Court, to convicted rapist Patrick Bheki Nkosi.
Earlier this week, KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that on September 4, Nkosi, aged 60, was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment after the Vryheid Regional Court found him guilty of raping two boys.
Netshiunda said on the evening of July 11, 2019, two boys, aged four and five years old at the time, were sent to the nearby shop when Nkosi called them into his house and raped them.
After raping them he gave them R2 and instructed them not to tell anyone. The rape was noticed by one of the boy’s mothers who inspected him after the child complained of pain on his buttocks. The boy told his mother of the rape ordeal and the matter was reported to the police who acted swiftly and arrested the suspect.
“The man, who was a teacher at the school which the boys attended, remained in custody until the day of his sentencing,” Netshiunda said.
Reacting to the rapist’s sentencing, Mngadi said the act comes on the back of written parliamentary questions by the DA in 2022 around whether KZN educators are vetted against the sexual offences/child protection register. At the time, the response from KZN’s Department of Education (DoE) was “no” but that it was in the process of establishing a system to do so.
“Two years later and not much has changed in this regard,” Mngadi said.
He said the party will submit a follow-up question to KZN Education MEC, Sipho Hlomuka to establish whether a system is now in place and when it will be implemented.
“The safety and security of our learners is of paramount importance. A holistic approach is needed to ensure that they are safe, both inside and outside the classroom.”
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