The Estcourt Regional Court in KwaZulu-Natal has sentenced a 22-year-old man to a term of life and 15 years imprisonment for a rape and a murder he committed in 2022.

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on April 14, 2022, the accused and two of his female friends had gone to his aunt’s house to buy alcohol (she sold alcohol) but when he got there, he was told that all the alcohol was finished.

“The deceased (a 26-year-old man) was seated on the premises drinking alcohol he had bought from there. One of the accused’s friends then asked the deceased to share his alcohol with them. When he refused, a physical fight broke out between them. The accused then left with the females and went to his home where he fetched a knife. He returned to his aunt’s home and when his aunt came out of the house, she found the accused with the knife in his hands and the deceased on the ground with multiple stab wounds on his body. The accused fled the scene and was at large as police were looking for him,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

On the evening of July 9, 2022, a 16-year-old complainant was walking with her boyfriend when the accused (who she knew) accosted them. He slapped the complainant on her face, accusing her of cheating on him. Her boyfriend ran off and reported to the complainant’s sister what had happened. The accused took the complainant to his house where he raped her through the night, only releasing her the following morning, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara. The complainant reported the matter to her sister when she got home, and they alerted the police. The accused was arrested a few days later.

In court, prosecutor Nokubonga Buthelezi led the evidence of eye-witness testimonies as well as the doctor’s evidence and post-mortem results, to secure the murder conviction.

In securing the rape conviction Ms Buthelezi led the testimonies of the complainant, her sister (the first report), and DNA evidence.

In aggravation of sentence the state led the evidence of the deceased’s mother who told the court that prior to his death the deceased was in the process of building a family home for them. She said that her hope for a home had died with him. The state also led the evidence of the complainant in the rape charge who told the court that her life has changed since the incident, and she has lost trust in men.

“The accused was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for murder, with the court deviating from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment, considering that there was initially a fight between the deceased, the accused, and his friends. The court found that the accused may have failed to control his anger. The court further considered that alcohol was involved and may have had an influence on the situation. The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

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Life sentence for 2022 murder and rape