The South African Police Service in conjunction with the National Prosecuting Authority as well as the Judiciary are continuing to remove bad elements who have no respect for women and children from the society, regardless of age. This is evidenced by recent harsh sentences meted out by the various courts in the province. A number of offenders were sent to prison for very lengthy periods including, inter-alia, life sentences for various offences, among them offences against women and children.
In the most recent one, four men including an elderly, were handed a combined 14 life terms sentences for various rape incidents by two Regional Courts.
In the first sentencing, on Friday, 27 July 2018, the Carolina Regional Court sentenced 91 year old Mdungwa Johannes Malinga to 12 life terms sentences for 12 counts of rape committed between 2006 and 2007.
The court heard how Malinga, who claimed to be a traditional healer, sexually exploited children aged between seven and nine that were brought to him to be healed. Some of the children slept over at his house so that he could perform rituals and in the process, Malinga took advantage and raped them. Three of the victims were also severely assaulted by the accused.
Malinga’s antics were exposed when some of the parents noticed strange behaviour from their children. They then took them for medical examination and rape was indeed confirmed. Twelve children came forth and opened cases, hence the 12 life sentences. Malinga was further handed a three year sentence for each of the three assault GBH cases however, the court ordered that all the sentences will run concurrently.
The other three accused, Jan Mtsweni aged 35 and Papa Jacob Masina aged 40, together with their co-accused, David Makhondo aged 45, were also sentenced on the same day by the KwaMhlanga Regional Court for charges of rape and theft. The court heard that during May 2013, the trio gave a lift to an 18 year old woman who was hitch-hiking from KwaMhlanga to Vaalbank. Along the way, they searched her hand bag, took her cellphone, an undisclosed amount of cash as well as her bank card. They demanded her bank card pin code and went to an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), where they attempted to withdraw money with no success.
The men then drove with her to a secluded area around Suncity D Village, near KwaMhlanga where two of the accused took turns raping her. Police worked tirelessly around the clock and arrested the men the following day. Mtsweni and Masina were handed life sentences each for the rape and declared unfit to possess a firearm. Makhondo was granted a 12 months’ imprisonment for theft suspended for three years, with a condition that he must not be found guilty of the same offence.
The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma welcomed the sentences and hailed the cooperation of the three entities in securing these harsh sentences. He believed that they will serve as a deterrent to other would-be criminals.