Mzwelethu Lindokuhle Beni was sentenced to life and 30 years imprisonment for rape and housebreaking in Northdene in 2022
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The Pinetown Regional Court sentenced Mzwelethu Lindokuhle Beni to life and 30 years imprisonment for housebreaking to commit an offence, robbery with aggravating circumstances, rape, and housebreaking with intent to steal and theft.
Beni, 44, committed these offences in the Northdene area, south of Durban, in September and October 2022.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said on September 27, 2022, the complainant (an adult woman) was asleep in her home when she was awoken by a sound.
“It was Beni who demanded her belongings, threatening to shoot her. He tied her up, gagged her mouth and raped her, before making off with two cellphones. The complainant ran outside where she flagged a passing vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was an off-duty metro police official who helped the complainant get untied and they reported the matter to the police. The complainant was taken to the RK Khan Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) and received the necessary assistance,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
Then on October 10, 2022, another complainant (adult woman) was away from her home (which she had armed using the home alarm system) when she received a call from the security company saying that the alarm had been triggered.
Ms Ramkisson-Kara said when she got home, she saw that her house had been broken in to and her laptop and two cellphones were missing. Beni was linked to these offences when he was arrested for another matter. He was linked via DNA and being in recent possession of some of the stolen items.
“In court, Prosecutor Zibuyile Zuma led the evidence of both the complainants, the police officials who attended the crime scenes, and DNA evidence in respect of the rape charge. Beni was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment for the housebreaking, 15 years imprisonment for the robbery with aggravating circumstances, life imprisonment for rape, and 10 years imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to steal and theft. He will serve an effective sentence of life imprisonment, and the court deemed him unfit to possess a firearm,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
She added that the court ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders. The NPA hopes that sentences of this nature demonstrate their commitment to the fight against crime, moreover, gender-based violence.