Serial rapist slapped with 11 life sentences

Police have welcomed the 11 life sentences that the Thohoyandou High Court passed down on a serial rapist and murderer on Wednesday.

Tshelani Edwin Risimati (35) was received ten life imprisonments sentences after he was found guilty on ten different counts of rape. He received another life sentence for murder and an additional 15 year’s imprisonment for robberies that he had committed between 2012 and 2015.

According to provincial police spokesperson Lt Moatahe Ngoepe, Risimati raped ten women from the Mavunda, Habengwa, Tshaulu, Mashau, Mutale and Dumela areas in Vhembe. The women were aged between 34 and 86. “He was attacking his victims while they were busy ploughing the mealie fields by first raping them and them robbing them. There was only one incident where he attacked a woman and raped her in her house,” said Ngoepe.

The murder charge relates to the death of the 34-year-old Nephawe Rofhiwa Staule from Habengwa Village on 4 May 2015.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Genl Nneke Ledwaba welcomed the court’s judgement and commended the police members for a job well done in this case.

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News in brief - Date: 06 April 2017

Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

Email: [email protected]