ZiMoja updates on the latest crime news in parts of the country.
LIMPOPO: A 40-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of an 11-year-old. The name of the rapist is withheld to protect the identity of the abused minor child. Regional National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said the accused man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, had pleaded not guilty in court, and the state led evidence of witnesses, which led to his conviction. On 3 August 2022, in Mokomene, outside Morebeng, the accused called the victim from the street and asked her to go and buy cigarettes for him at the shop. "She then left her school bag. Upon her return, she handed the cigarettes to the accused man and asked for the school bag back. Instead, he grabbed her and took her to his bedroom, where he threatened her with a knife. The accused then raped the victim and promised her R2 to silence her," Malabi-Dzhangi said. After the rape, the man instructed the little girl to wash her underwear when she got home. The victim met her mother along the way, and she reported the matter to her."The mother then took her to a police station, where a case was opened and the accused was immediately arrested.The court further ordered that his name be entered into the national register of sex offenders.
KWAZULU NATAL: A 74-year-old woman has been killed, allegedly by her boyfriend after an argument. It's alleged that the woman's neighbour called Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) just after 5pm and reported that a woman's body was found during a wellness check inside her apartment at a housing complex in Cornubia City. Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram said the neighbours told them that they heard an argument between the couple and believed that it turned violent. The neighbours later went to check on the woman when they could not see her after the fight.
Balram said that when neighbours approached the house, the deceased's partner allegedly behaved in a suspicious manner. "A neighbour said they entered the house and called out to the female but she did not respond.Instead, they discovered the body on a bed covered with a bed sheet. Her boyfriend fled after the discovery was made. Blood was found in the bathroom. it's believed that the suspect took a shower and changed his clothes prior to members of the community arriving at the house," added Balram. The police have since launched a manhunt for the woman's boyfriend.
WESTERN CAPE: The Hawks in the Western Cape have arrested an alleged human trafficker in Kraaifontein, Cape Town. The suspect was arrested at a house in Kraaifontein, where four possible victims were rescued. Her arrest emanates from a follow-up investigation that started earlier this year, where it was discovered that the suspect trafficked a victim from Nigeria for sexual exploitation. Provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, warrant officer Zinzi Hani, said preliminary investigation and interviews by social workers discovered that the four possible victims are not trafficking in person victims but are illegally in South Africa. "The four people who were rescued were immediately arrested and charged with contravening the Immigration Act. The suspects, including the alleged trafficker, will appear in court today," Hani said. He added that the alleged trafficker has been charged with trafficking in persons and contravention of the Immigration Act.
