Nkosinathi Emmanuel Phakathi, the convicted serial rapist from Ekurhuleni, was given 42 life sentences for rape and 791 years and six months of direct imprisonment for sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and theft.
The sentences will not be running concurrently.
Acting judge Lesego Makolomakwe of the Pretoria High Court delivered Phakathi’s sentence decision on Friday at the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court.
The court also ordered that Phakathi be deemed unfit to possess a firearm.
According to Makolomakwe, Phakathi’s information needs to be added to the national register for sexual offenders.
Additionally, she stated that when the Department of Correctional Services evaluates Phakathi for parole, the victims and/or complainants of his reign of terror should be given the right to speak out and attend pertinent meetings.
Phakathi, who was 38 years old at the time, was found guilty in November 2022 of 148 counts of theft, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, and rape.
He entered a guilty plea to every allegation.
He was found guilty of 90 counts of rape, three counts of compelling a child to witness a sexual act, four counts of compelled rape, 43 counts of kidnapping, two counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, and four counts of theft.
A number of Phakathi’s victims, their families, and activists against gender-based violence were crammed into the courtroom gallery during Friday’s proceedings.
Phakathi was sitting in the accused dock with his face down and a mask on while Makolomakwe was reading her sentence decision. He kept his crutches close to his body.
Advocate Salome Scheepers, the state prosecutor, and advocate Lekau Kgokane, the legal aid attorney representing Phakathi, presented their arguments for sentencing on Monday.
Shot while fleeing from police
Phakathi, who has no previous convictions, has been in a prison hospital at Modderbee Correctional Services Centre near his Daveyton hometown, east of Johannesburg, since his arrest in March 2021.
He was shot in the leg when he fled from the police, who had come to arrest him. As a result, his leg had to be amputated.
Phakathi terrorised girls and women in Ekurhuleni, particularly in areas east of Benoni, for nine years from June 2012 to March 2021.
He was arrested at the Barcelona section in Etwatwa, Daveyton, in March 2021.
His rape spree dates back to 2012, with his victims aged from nine to 44. His victims were from Daveyton, Putfontein, Crystal Park and Etwatwa in Ekurhuleni.
When new president is elected he will get free parole.