TSHITALE – A resident of Masethe Village, Nkhumeleni Elvis Ndou (21), was sentenced to two years in jail for attempted rape. The sentence was passed in the Tshitale Magistrate's Court on Monday.

This follows an incident that took place at Tshivhuyuni Village in the Tshitale area, during the night of July 26, this year. The court heard that during the night of the incident, the complainant was on her way to watch a film at a local school. She was in the company of a friend.

The complainant is a 15-year-old girl who also resides at the Tshivhuyuni Village. On the way they met the accused. He was going in the same direction as the complainant and her friend. The accused joined them and walked closer to the complainant. He proposed sex to the complainant as they were walking and she refused.

The court heard that the accused then produced a knife and threatened the complainant with death if she did not go with him to the nearby bushes. The complainant's friend remained on the road while the accused pulled the complainant to the bushes.

While she was waiting for the complainant on the road, a police van arrived and she stopped it. She told the police that there was a man raping a girl in the surrounding bushes. The police followed them in the bushes. The accused was still pulling the complainant's clothes off when they arrived on the scene.

The accused left when the police arrived and disappeared in the darkness. The complainant managed to identify him and he was arrested the following day. He appeared in court two days after his arrest and the case was postponed until Monday this week, when he was sentenced to two years in jail without the option of a fine. Half of the sentence was suspended for five years.