Steven Chabalala (31), a resident of Rotterdam village, will spend the next 25 years in jail. His rape case was finalised in the Hlanganani Regional Court last Friday.

The case is related to an incident that took place at Rotterdam village on November 25, 2003, at about 18:00.

The court heard that, on the day of the incident, the complainant was sent to buy baked fish from the nearby tuckshop. The victim was a 15-year-old girl. She met the accused along the way. The court further heard that the accused proposed sex to the victim.

The victim rejected the proposal. That was an insult to the accused, who responded by grabbing the victim by the hand and pulling her to the nearby bushes. That is where he raped her repeatedly. The accused was arrested the following day, after the complainant reported the matter to the police.

The case was postponed several times before it was finalised last Friday. The accused was sentenced to 25 years in jail.

In the other rape case that was finalised in the Polokwane High Court on Monday this week, a 40-year-old man, Amos Khoza, who resides at Mdavula village in the Malamulele area, was sentenced to 12 years in jail.

The incident took place on March 4, 2004, during the day. The accused was employed as a gardener at Mdavula village at the time of the incident. The victim’s mother left her alone at home on the day of the incident. The victim was a 12-year-old girl.

The court heard that the accused grabbed the girl and raped her inside the house. She reported the matter to her mother later that evening, who took the matter up with the police.

Capt Maano Sadike, the spokesperson for the police in the Mopani area, said that the sentences will send a clear message to rapists-to-be that crime does not pay.