The Thohoyandou community hailed the life sentences meted out to two criminals, saying it will serve as a deterrent.

This comes after the Limpopo High Court sitting at Thohoyandou recently sentenced Vusani Siphuma, who was 19 at the time, and Vhonani Muthumuni (21) to life imprison-ment for rape.

The incident took place in the vicinity of the University of Venda in August 2006. The incident happened at 03:15.

It was alleged during the arrest that two women who were attending a conference at Univen went to the nearby shops. The two men met them underway and asked them for money to buy cigarettes.

The women refused, whereupon they were assaulted and dragged to nearby bushes at knife-point.

One of the women managed to escape and ran back to the stadium, while the two men took turns in raping the young woman, who was 15 years old at the time.

After the rape, the victim managed to identify one of the suspects and he was arrested. The arrest of the first man led to a further arrest where the friend was also taken into custody.

Limpopo police spokesperson in Vhembe Captain Mashudu Malelo thanked the community for their good working relationship. He said as police they would not have succeeded in apprehending the criminals but cooperation from the community led to the arrests.

He said the information supplied by the community assisted them in building a strong case against the criminals.

He thanked the justice department for the sentence, saying it would serve as a deterrent and a warning to would-be rapists.

“This is the type of partnership that we expect from our communities and together we can make this country a better place to live in,” he said.