He evaded the police for nine years, and this week alleged serial rapist Nkosinathi Phakathi is apparently trying to avoid a lengthy trial.
Phakathi, who is facing 203 charges, with 113 rape victims, made his first appearance since his case was transferred to the Joburg High Court, sitting at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court this week.
His counsel, advocate Jacob Letau Kgokane of Legal Aid South Africa, intimated during his brief address to acting judge Anneke van Wyk on Monday, while asking for a postponement of the case to the next day, that his client is planning to dispose of the matter in the period allocated, even adding that it could be in one sitting.
Van Wyk granted Kgokane, who is representing Phakathi for the time at the high court, time to consult with his client and postponed the matter to the following day, Tuesday.
However, the matter did not sit at all on Tuesday due to a power outage caused by a faulty transformer.
The back-up generator that the court uses had overheated, leading to the postponement of a lot of cases on the day.
Phakathi’s case was postponed to this Tuesday.
He apparently wants to plead guilty to all charges that he is linked to through DNA evidence.
The 38-year-old Phakathi allegedly attacked girls on their way to school; in their homes after posing as a handyman, electrician or municipal official; and along the railway line or in the veld they cut through to get to or from school.
Phakathi allegedly raped mothers in the presence of their children, aunts in the presence of nieces or nephews, and sisters in the presence of other sisters, brothers and cousins.
He grew bolder with each passing month and year.
In 2017, he is alleged to have committed at least 16 rapes. Last year, a month before he was arrested in Etwatwa after one of his victims spotted him, he had already allegedly committed nine rapes by February.
Head of the Legal Aid SA Pretoria local office Flavia Isola said: “At the moment it is not clear that there is any negotiation of a plea bargain, especially in light of the new charges brought forward.
“The initial charges were 115, and there were 88 additional charges indicted on Monday 23 May, which brought the total to 203.”
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