A resident of Namakgale Township, Joseph Malele (29), will spend the next 10 years behind bars. His rape case was finalized in the Lulekani Regional Court last Thursday. The case is related to an incident that took place at the Namakgale Township on June 21 last year at about 12:00.

The court heard that the victim, a 22-year-old woman, was on her way home from the local shopping centre when the incident occurred. Along the way, she met the accused who was going in the opposite direction. The accused proposed sex to the victim.

The victim refused on the basis that she was a married woman who respects her marriage. The accused then produced a firearm, grabbed the woman and threatened to cut her throat if she made any noise. He then took her to the nearby bushes where he raped her at gunpoint.

The victim went straight to the police station after the incident. The victim saw the accused passing by her home later that afternoon. She then notified the police, who took no time to respond to her call. The accused was arrested and he appeared in court a day after the incident.

His case was remanded several times until it was finalized last Thursday, when he was ordered to stay behind bars for the next ten years. According to the police statement, the accused’s conviction will send a clear message to rapists-to-be that sex without the other party’s consent is against the law.