91 Year old sentenced on 12 counts of rape
The South African Police Service, together with the National Prosecuting Authority and the Judiciary, are very serious about removing all those criminal elements (regardless of their age) who have no respect for women and children, from society. This is evident from the number of harsh sentences passed by the various courts in the province recently. A number of offenders were sent to prison for very lengthy periods, some even received life sentences for various offences, include offences against women and children.
Recently, four men - including an elderly accused - received a combined total of 14 life sentences for various incidents of rape.
In the first case, on Friday, July 27, the Carolina Regional Court sentenced 91-year-old Mdungwa Johannes Malinga to 12 concurrent life sentences on 12 counts of rape committed from 2006 to 2007.
The court heard how Malinga, who claimed to be a traditional healer, sexually exploited children (aged from seven to nine years), who were brought to him to be healed. Some of the victims even slept over at his house so that he could perform some rituals/rites and, in the process, Malinga took advantage of their trust by raping them. Three of the victims were also seriously assaulted by the accused.
Malinga’s evil deeds were exposed when some parents noticed strange behaviour in their children. They then took them for a medical examination where it was confirmed they had been raped. Twelve of the victims opened cases against him, hence the 12 life sentences. Malinga was also sentenced to a further three years for assault (GBH). All these sentences will run concurrently.
The other three accused, Jan Mtsweni (35) Papa Jacob Masina (40) and David Makhondo (45), were also sentenced on the same day in the KwaMhlanga Regional Court on counts of rape and theft. The court heard that during May 2013, the trio gave a lift to an 18-year-old woman, who was hitchhiking from KwaMhlanga to Vaalbank. En route they searched her handbag and took her cellphone, an undisclosed amount of cash, as well as her bank card. They demanded her PIN code and went to an ATM where they attempted to withdraw money, but without success.
They then drove to a secluded area near Suncity D Village in KwaMhlanga where two of the accused took turns in raping her. Police worked around the clock to arrest the perpetrators the following day. Mtsweni and Masina each received a life sentence for the rape and were declared unfit to possess a firearm. Makhondo received a 12 months’ sentence for theft, suspended for three years, on condition that he is not found guilty of the same offence.
The Provincial Commissioner for Police in Mpumalanga, Lt Gen Mondli Zuma, welcomed the sentences and lauded the cooperation of the three law entities in securing these convictions. He believes these harsh sentences will serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
Submitted by: Brig Leonard Hlati
Subeditor: Lynette Brink