It was a moment of relief coupled with a sense of justice for some of rapist Johannes Tshabile's survivors when the North West High Court put a permanent end to his reign of terror.
The serial rapist was sentenced to 11 life sentences for rape and a cumulative 363 years for rape, attempted murder, theft, robbery with aggravating circumstances, robbery, attempted robbery, assault, assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm, attempt to commit a sexual offence and sexual assault last month.
The 43-year-old man had terrorised women in Wolmaransstad for nearly six years between December 2012 and May 2018 and was at some point South Africa's most wanted serial rapist.
His victims ranged in age from 15 to 65 and he would carry out some offences with an “unknown accomplice who committed similar offences with him”, police and the NPA said at the time of his judgment.
Three of his 21 victims have opened up about their violent encounters with Tshabile in exclusive interviews with TimesLIVE Premium and shared their remarkable journey to healing and acceptance.
None of them thought he would eventually be caught and face justice, as his identity was unknown for many years, and had made peace with the harrowing fact. They shared their joy at his conviction and permanent removal from society.
The women, aged between 25 and 37, all declined to be named and were given pseudonyms to protect their identities. Here are their stories:
BOITUMELO MOTAUNG*
Boitumelo still has perfect recollection of the events of January 21 2017. She had just returned from a funeral and was preparing to work a night shift at a popular restaurant chain. She remembers the argument she had with her aunt before she left and how it set off the chain of events that fateful night.
The 37-year-old was in a rush to get to work and said she didn't realise until later that Tshabile had been following her for some time. She couldn't see her attacker as it was dark and he had covered his face except his eyes.
“It was a very dark night as there were no street lights. He came from behind and strangled me until I fell to my knees. He also hit me on the head and I fell to the ground.
“He didn't hurt me [with any object] or pull a knife on me. He then raped me and when he was done, he told me to not look back and I complied because I was scared,” she said.
Boitumelo ran for help nearby and eventually ran into someone she knew, who called the police. They arrived and after a return to the scene she was taken to the police station to open a case and then to the hospital for a medical examination.
I'm a talkative person and I was able to open up on what happened. Whenever I went to the clinic, I would tell the nurses my story and they'd be in disbelief
— Boitumelo Motaung*
Reflecting on the impact the ordeal had on her, a tearful Boitumelo spoke of how it affected her eldest daughter, who was not able to attend school for a week afterwards.
She said while difficult in the beginning, especially given the stigma attached to rape survivors, she got a lot of support from her workplace and husband, who was her boyfriend at the time.
“I'm a talkative person and I was able to open up on what happened. Whenever I went to the clinic, I would tell the nurses my story and they'd be in disbelief. Even at work, I told my managers what happened the Monday after and they couldn't believe it as I didn't have physical scars,” she said.
It was only when she updated them on the case that they accepted the gravity of the situation, she explained. This openness and her acceptance of herself in spite of what happened helped the spirited woman to quickly return to normal life.
When she received news that Tshabile had finally been arrested, Boitumelo was relieved but had already made peace with the fact that he might never be caught.
She saw him in October last year after she and the other women testified during his trial. While she recognised him as someone she had seen from time to time, she said he was not someone she would associate with such crimes.
“I was happy [when he was arrested] because being raped isn't easy to deal with and it haunts you. You even regret your actions in the lead-up, especially when you think of the possibility of being killed.”
TEBOGO MODISE*
It has been a long journey to healing for Tebogo nearly eight years after she was violently attacked by Tshabile and abandoned by a former partner.
The reserved woman recalls the difficulty picking up the pieces after her harrowing ordeal at the age of 15. She spoke about her struggle to open up about what happened for fear of judgment and because she felt no one would fully understand her feelings.
“Most of the time when I thought of talking about what happened, I thought people would judge me so it's better to keep quiet because it's not easy to talk about rape and to seek advice from others.
“It was difficult, I won't lie. But as time went by, I realised that I couldn't [continue like that] and had to accept because this thing can happen to anyone,” she said.
Tebogo also has a perfect recollection of what happened on December 16 2016. She had gone out with her boyfriend and a couple of friends to celebrate the holiday. Tebogo describes herself as someone who usually drinks when she goes out, but on that day, unusually, she had no desire for alcohol.
“It's like I was sick or something. I just didn't feel like drinking that day,” she recalled.
Tebogo, 25, continued having fun but opted to stick to soft drinks for the rest of the day. When they returned from the day's trip, Tebogo said she wanted to go home but was talked into going to a party being thrown by her former boyfriend.
The partner later insisted they walk back home at about 3am, despite his family's offer to pick them up or arrange for them to sleep at a relative's home nearby. After a fight over the issue, she eventually caved in and agreed to make the arduous journey home in spite of her reservations. This would later prove a grave mistake.
I remember when I got to the tar road, there were a couple of guys in front of me. I cried so hard [when I saw them] because I thought the very same thing that happened would happen again. But luckily it was people I knew and I didn't have to say anything — just by looking at me, they knew
— Tebogo Modise*
“We stopped along the way and I remember seeing a guy approach but he was still far off. That guy appeared and disappeared quickly and this uneasy feeling came over me.
“We continued walking and [a short distance later], we were passing a railway line and I remember it was just the two of us. We suddenly saw someone running towards us and we stopped. When he got there, we saw he had a knife with him.”
When Tebogo initially saw her attacker, he had a white shirt on, but when he finally caught up with them he had pulled it up to cover his face. He then demanded their cellphones and later money, which they handed over to him.
“I thought that because he was alone and there were two of us, maybe we were going to fight him off. But my ex gave him my phone and the money he demanded. He [Tshabile] wanted another phone because he thought my ex was lying about not having one and when he didn't get it, tried to stab my ex. I then pushed him and at that point, my ex ran off and I remained behind.”
Tshabile tried to run after Tebogo's boyfriend but the latter managed to outrun him. He returned to the young woman, who tried to fight him off and got stabbed multiple times in the process. She eventually lost consciousness and only regained it after Tshabile had raped her.
Describing the long trek home, Tebogo recalled having to endure walking through a veld while dizzy and her fear when she stumbled across a group of men along the way.
“I remember when I got to the tar road, there were a couple of guys in front of me. I cried so hard [when I saw them] because I thought the very same thing that happened would happen again. But luckily it was people I knew and I didn't have to say anything — just by looking at me, they knew,” she said.
She was accompanied home and when she arrived was taken to the police station and then hospital. She also found her boyfriend at home and he tried to explain that he left to look for help but Tebogo felt he had abandoned her.
The ordeal had a devastating effect on the young woman, who failed grade 10 the following year, lost a drastic amount of weight and broke up with her boyfriend as she “hated him and ... blamed him”.
Her family tried to support her in the aftermath but their efforts failed as she withdrew from the world. The questions and comments circulating about the drastic changes from outsiders also added to the pain — until she took a hard look at herself in the mirror.
“One day I stood up and [told myself], 'No man, I cannot always stay indoors and in pain. This thing can happen to anyone ... yes, it happened — but I have to stand up. Bottling things up won't help me.' From that day, I told myself that I would no longer hide away, fearing what people will say.”
The young woman did just that and carried on with her life, eventually finishing her schooling. She faced a setback in 2019 when she was told Tshabile had been arrested but managed to bounce back using the same mantra that helped her the first time.
Making things easier for her also was seeing the number of women who had survived Tshabile's violent attacks, which made her realise she was not alone.
Tebogo also got to face her attacker, albeit through images, and said she struggled to reconcile this picture with the man who violently and ruthlessly attacked her.
LEBOGANG TAU*
When Lebogang got news that the man she had identified as her rapist would walk free, she was haunted by the fear he would come back to hurt her again.
The 29-year-old woman was violently attacked on September 24 2014 as she was walking home with her sister and another person after a day of drinking. Two men attacked them from behind and while one battled with her sister, she tried to fight off the second one.
He made me feel like I wanted this ... it really hurts because my children now have to grow up without a father
— * Lebogang Tau
"[Because of the confusion], I pointed out the wrong person as the rapist but later learnt that it was actually Tshabile. I didn't see him in all the chaos, we fought for a long time and he eventually overpowered me by striking me in the eye [and tripping me].
“The person we were with ran to get help and when they returned, he [Tshabile] ran off and I managed to get to my sister and tell her what happened. She took me home and went to the police station and then hospital,” she said.
Tau not only had to deal with the trauma of being violated but her then-partner and father of her children ditched her over the ordeal. “He made me feel like I wanted this ... it really hurts because my children now have to grow up without a father.”
This soured her view of men and led her to withdraw from socialising with others and being around men. Her mother also had to step in and take her children during that time.
The young woman said it took a long time for her to heal, but through the help of social workers and the support of her family she was able to overcome the harrowing ordeal.
She faced a setback when the initial case was thrown out of court and again when Tshabile escaped from custody. When she heard of another young woman's rape in her neighbourhood, she feared that she too would become a target. Despite this, she encouraged the woman to report the case to the police as soon as possible.
The mother of two said she never saw Tshabile and was relieved when he was finally sentenced for his crimes.
* Not their real names
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