File picture: Ekaterina Bolovtsova, Pexels
A NORTHERN Cape man was sentenced to 26 years behind bars for the rape and robbery of a 27-year-old woman who was hitch-hiking home to Sekhing village in Pampierstad.
Tsholofelo Sydney Wesi, 27, was sentenced in the Hartswater Regional Court for raping the woman on September 7, 2019.
The victim is said to have been hitch-hiking home to Sekhing village in Pampierstad when she was approached by Wesi, who volunteered to take her home as it was dark. She kindly accepted the offer.
“The suspect took out a knife, robbed the victim of her money and proceeded to rape her twice in different locations,” said Northern Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Timothy Sam.
Sam added that Wesi was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for two counts of rape and eight years imprisonment for robbery, both sentences running concurrently, and ordered that the accused's name be entered in the National Register for Sex Offenders.
“He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” Sam added.
The provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, welcomed the court outcome, saying that it will serve as a deterrent to other would-be rapists.
Otola further commended Hartswater Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Detective Sergeant Edwin Thabapelo for demonstrating the capabilities of the police in fighting gender-based violence and femicide.