The Standerton Regional Court on Thursday sentenced Vika Jeremiah Shabangu to life imprisonment for rape, with an additional 35 years behind bars for another count of rape, two counts of aggravated robbery as well as for residential burglary.
The 34-year-old was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for rape, 15 years imprisonment for each aggravated robbery and five years imprisonment for residential burglary.
Police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said: “The suspect attacked an 18-year-old lady who visited her aunt’s place where there was a family function. It was heard in court that in 2015, the victim, who attended to a phone call, moved away from a noisy crowd and during that time, the accused emerged from nowhere, then forcefully took the victim to a secluded area where he raped her.
“The suspect enjoyed his freedom for a while and thought he could get away with his criminal activities, but a few years later he was arrested for robbery aggravating and burglary case, and that was when police discovered that this was the rape suspect that they have been looking for, and for him the chickens had come home to roost.”
Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, said this sentence should send a strong message to perpetrators of gender-based-Violence that even if they can run, they will be caught and face the full might of the law without fear or favour.
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