Five rapists were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Waterval Regional Court in three different cases last week. These were the very first cases in which the recently acquired increased sentencing powers of the Regional Court were exercised in the province.

In all three cases, the victims of these rapists were minors. The thorough investigations leading to the conviction and sentencing of the offenders in all the cases, were executed by members of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual offences (FCS) unit in Louis Trichardt. Mr Sam Mukhari of the Regional court was the prosecutor.

Regional Court magistrate M Viljoen, in passing sentence, commended the SAPS for the quality of their work and for reconstructing the lost docket in one of the cases. She said the court in Limpopo presently has to deal with rape cases on a daily basis. The community requires a deterrent against this. It is common cause that the courts are under fire for passing too light sentences for rape. The community demands more compassion for the victims.

Viljoen said a clear message must be sent to the community that rape is a serious offence. It is a violently degrading and humiliating act against the integrity and freedom of all women. The court shall treat anyone who violates and insults women and children in this way severely.

With regard to the youthful ages of all the victims, she said it is terrible that children nowadays are not safe to play anymore. They are robbed of the freedom to play in safety and deprived of the opportunity to explore their environment in a carefree manner. Because of the danger, children must play behind bars and be guarded every day on a 24-hour basis like prisoners, with their parents as wardens.

In the case against Piet Mulaudzi (21) and Tshifhiwa Mudau (32), the victims in the offence, which took place on July 3, 2003, were two 14-year-old girls who were walking through an area in the industrial area of Louis Trichardt to a café. The accused confronted them and, under threat, forced them into the nearby bushes and raped them. They also took their money and wrist watches.

Magistrate Viljoen described Mulaudzi and Mudau’s actions as despicable and brutal.

She said Mulaudzi, who had only passed Grade 3, was unemployed and only 16 years old at the time, and had acted independently in just as brutal a manner as the adult Mudau, and should therefore be punished with the same severity. Mudau, who passed Grade 8, was also unemployed and had a previous conviction for rape. She found no mitigation and sentenced both offenders to life imprisonment.

On receiving the news of the sentence, the mother of one of the young girls said she was profoundly thankful for the extraordinary effort with which a member of the FCS succeeded in reconstructing the docket in the case, which at one stage was lost in transit.

"Without the praiseworthy dedication of this person, it could very well have been impossible to put a well-prepared case before the court. After the traumatic incident, the same sort of dedication was displayed by Dr Casper Venter, the medical doctor who assisted in taking DNA samples, after having been summonsed after hours." About the sentences, she said she welcomed them as a positive move to find a deterrent for those elements in society who seemingly think that they can do just what they want.

The mother said the emotional trauma for the victims was aggravated by the physical sickness and side-effects of the antidote they had to take after the incident. This lasted for several weeks. Apart from this, there were also the regular check-ups and series of AIDS-tests. A strong and extensive support network at school and in the community at large assisted her child in processing this traumatic experience.

In a similar case, Thabo Moses Seloka of Sekhokho location was found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl, who, together with her two friends, were riding their bicycles to Sefene village on September 22, 2005. Seloka stopped them and threatened them with a knife. After chasing away her two friends, he dragged the girl into the bushes near Ramatjowe village and raped her. Seloka was found guilty and also sentenced to life imprisonment.

In the third case, two 18-year-old males from Mpheni Block D, Justice Yingwane and Shadrack Khathutshelo Nenguda, were found guilty of raping a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old girl (also from Mpheni), who were on their way to their grandmother on October 14 last year. The two young girls were threatened with knives and dragged to a house, where they were raped. Upon being found guilty, Yingwane en Nenguda were also sentenced to life imprisonment.

All these cases are taken on automatic appeal against conviction and sentence to the High Court.