Moses Gqesha sentenced to eight life terms for the brutal rape of businesswoman Andy Kawa

MOSES Gqesha has been sentenced to eight life terms and 34 years for 12 counts including robbery, assault, theft and rape of Gauteng businesswoman Andy Kawa.

The sentence was handed down by the Eastern Cape High Court on Thursday. Gqesha attacked and raped Kawa in a terrifying night for nearly 15 hours near Kings Beach in December 2010 before she escaped in the morning.

In an emotional moment, Kawa's daughter confronted the convicted rapist in the court.

"This is absolutely unacceptable, you can't even look at me. You don't even have the courage to look at me, you're staring at the newspaper it is completely disgusting and unacceptable," she said.

After the ordeal, Kawa became a gender-based violence (GBV) advocate and author. She described the life-changing experience in a memoir. Kwanele, enough! My Battle with the SAPS to get Justice for Women.

The entrepreneur claimed the police did not do enough to find her that night, nor did they swiftly acquire physical evidence, question prospective suspects and witnesses, or investigate video footage, among other things.

In 2018, she recounted memories from the night of the attack.

She said that while immersing her feet in the ocean and texting a friend, she looked up and spotted a man who instantly made her feel uneasy. "The eyes, there was something about his eyes that caught my attention. He had very angry eyes," she said. "He grabbed me from the back and gave me a few punches. He told me not to shout, or he would kill me."

Kawa attempted to flee, but her attacker tied her down with a knife to her throat and threatened to murder her.