Justice Philani Nkosi was handed four life sentences for multiple rapes and the murder of a minor when he appeared at the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela on Tuesday.
The court heard how the 35-year-old terrorised women in Kabokweni outside Nelspruit before he was arrested.
It is said that on August 31 2014, Nkosi pounced on his first victim, who was 12 years old at the time. The little girl is said to have informed her mother that she was going to a nearby shop, but failed to return home. She was found dead in the bushes the following morning.
A case of murder was opened and an investigation ensued. It was later discovered that the girl was raped as well.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said the accused and his accomplices also robbed a 30-year-old woman of cash and groceries in 2016.
“The accused thereafter dragged her to the nearby bushes where he stabbed and raped her. The incident was also reported to the police in Kabokweni, where a case of rape with an additional charge of robbery was opened,” said Mohlala.
He added that in 2018, the accused dragged another woman, aged 29, to the bushes and raped her, after offering to accompany her to a male friend. The following day, the woman went to the clinic for treatment and eventually a case of rape was registered at the Kabokweni police station.
On a count of rape of a 12-year-old girl, Nkosi was given a life sentence and for a count of murder of the girl, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. For the rape of the 29-year-old woman, the accused was sentenced to another life imprisonment.
He also received 30 years behind bars for robbing a 30-year-old woman and a further 15 years in jail for raping her.
The accused, who was deemed unfit to carry a firearm, was also declared unfit to work with children and his name will be entered into a register of sexual offenders. The sentences will not run concurrently.
Police commissioner in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Manamela, has been vocal and concerned about increasing cases of gender-based violence and femicide in Mpumalanga, and has welcomed the sentence.
“We are so overwhelmed and excited about the sentence that the court handed down to the accused. Today women and children will sleep better knowing that one of the perpetrators is behind bars for a very long time,” said Manamela.
“This should send a clear message to others who have not yet been caught that the net is slowly closing in on them. Thanks to the investigating team, the prosecution team and the judiciary for a job well done.”
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