The Groblersdal Regional Court has sentenced 35-year-old Ephraim Matshela Madiba to life imprisonment for the rape and assault of an elderly woman aged 90. 

SAPS spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the incident happened on 31 July 2022. " The accused broke into the house of an elderly woman at Elandskraal and found a panga in the victim's bedroom. He assaulted her with it before raping her. He thereafter fled the scene with the said panga, "said Ledwaba. He said the police were alerted about the incident and a case of rape and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was opened. "The victim was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment. The rape case was transferred to Mokopane Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for further investigation. The suspect was traced and arrested, the police also recovered the panga with blood stains, which was used to assault the victim."

Ledwaba said the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and a further two years imprisonment for assault GBH. "The sentences will be served concurrently," he said. The Provincial Commissioner of the Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, praised the investigating officer and his team for ensuring that perpetrators are removed from the society and kept in jail. "We welcome the life sentence and we are glad that justice was finally served," concluded Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe.