Life in jail for man who raped 'woman who raised him' in Bothaville

The Bothaville magistrate’s court has sentenced a 34-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping a 75-year-old woman in December last year.

Magistrate Basi Mahlatsi also found Mvula Mashiya guilty of breaking into the woman's house on December 23 last year. Mashiya was also sentenced to an additional five years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances.

“On the day of the incident, the complainant was asleep when she heard noise in another room, around 11pm.

“She went to investigate and saw Mashiya, who forced her back into the bedroom, assaulted her, and raped her several times,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said on Tuesday.

He said Mashiya searched the house and took R300 before he left. The complainant called the police and Mashiya was arrested a few hours later.

“In court, Mashiya denied raping the complainant and said he was at home when the incident happened. But he contradicted himself when he said he arrived home at 8pm, whereas in his arresting statement, he said he arrived home at 10pm,” Shuping said

Prosecutor Thabang Makokwe presented a victim impact statement facilitated by Khantse Skhosana, in which the survivor said the incident had affected her as she no longer trusts men, even her family members.

“The complainant knows the parents of the accused, and the accused grew up in front of her, which means she was violated in the most inhumane way by a child she raised. In a serious case like this, the personal circumstances of the accused must recede in the background and the court must impose life imprisonment on the accused,” Makokwe said.

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