Police officer denied bail in rape case, man sentenced to life for raping homeless woman

A police officer from Richmond in the Northern Cape province has been remanded in custody after the local magistrate’s court denied him bail this week.

The 34-year-old is accused of raping his 21-year-old girlfriend. The court concluded that he probably posed a danger to the victim.

The Independent Police Investigation Directorate (IPID) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) opposed bail and the accused failed to convince the court that he could meet the bail conditions.

Among the reasons given by the court for refusing to grant him bail was his poor work history, which showed that he had frequently been absent from work in the past and that this had had a negative impact on his status.

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The Northern Cape official’s case was adjourned to 23 July.

Life sentence for raping a homeless woman

A 32-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape by the Sasolburg Regional Court.

Thabo Maseko was found guilty of raping a 28-year-old homeless woman whom he and an unknown accomplice followed after she left a tavern.

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The victim had stopped near a fire to keep warm when Maseko and the other man attacked her and dragged her away.

The incident is said to have occurred not far from a police station. The victim reported the crime as soon as the men had left her.

“Not the worst rape case”

Maseko was known to the homeless woman from Zamdela, near Sasolburg, and was soon identified, arrested and charged.

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Mojalefa Senokoatsane, spokesperson for the NPA Free State, explained the defendants’ request for mitigation as follows: “During the trial, the defence argued that this was not the worst rape case that the court had dealt with and that the court should deviate from the maximum sentence.”

“Regional Court prosecutor Ntombi Marase argued that there is no better or worse rape as rape is a degrading and cruel act.”

When handing down the verdict, the court rejected this “flimsy” justification and stated that there were no essential and compelling circumstances. It therefore imposed the maximum sentence.