Father and friend sentenced to life for raping his daughters

A 39-YEAR-OLD Limpopo father an his 36-year-old friend have been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his two daughters.

The High Court in Polokwane convicted the duo on multiple charges including rape, sexual exploitation, and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The girls, who were just nine and 11 years old at the time of the incidents in 2022, bravely testified against their father and his accomplice in a trial that revealed the deeply disturbing abuse they endured.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said that another 68-year-old accused, Diedrick Schannes Roux, died by suicide after he shot himself shortly before the trial commenced.

Malabi-Dzhangi said the three men were renting farms around the Letsitele area.

She said the men pleaded not guilty to the charges, except for the two charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

During the trial, State prosecutor Advocate Lerato Mohlaka called six witnesses, including the young victims, who bravely testified in camera, shielded from the public eye. 

"They told the court that their biological parents are divorced, and the mother left them with their father. Around 2022, in Letsitele, their remedial teacher gave them homework to write her a letter about what made them happy or sad. This exercise ultimately exposed the brutal abuse they were subjected to at their home," explained Malabi-Dzhangi.

The girls also reported that they were raped on some occasions by Zimbabwean men employed by their father at the farm, after he failed to pay them their salaries. The Zimbabwean men are still at large

Following their conviction, the two men tried to mitigate their sentences, arguing that the children were brainwashed, hence they were implicating them.

When arguing for life imprisonment, Mohlaka stated that there were no substantial or compelling factors justifying a lesser sentence as the men had demonstrated no remorse, sympathy or empathy towards the minor victims for their barbaric and inhumane actions.