Hefty sentence for man who raped 101-year-old woman.

SEHLAKWANE

The Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court has on October 3 sentenced Sifiso Johannes Mahlangu (28) from Sehlakwane village in Zaaiplaas to life imprisonment for the rape of a 101-year-old woman.
He was also sentenced to an additional three years’ imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to commit an offence. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment.
In addition, the court declared Mahlangu unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Section 103(1) of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 and ordered that his name be entered into the National Register of Sexual Offenders in terms of Section 50(2) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007. Mahlangu had pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court heard that on July 27, 2024, at Zaaiplaas, he broke into the victim’s home, raped her, and fled.

He was later linked to the offence through DNA evidence and subsequently arrested. During aggravation of sentence, state prosecutor Sifiso Miya presented a Victim Impact Report compiled by social worker Khomolo Mufunwa, together with a pre-sentence report.
The reports highlighted the severe psychological and emotional trauma suffered by the elderly victim, who no longer feels safe in her own home and has developed a fear of men. The prosecutor argued that Mahlangu is a sexual predator who deliberately preyed on a vulnerable and defenseless member of society, stressing that there were no substantial or compelling circumstances to justify deviating from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has welcomed the sentence.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in Limpopo, Advocate Ivy Thenga, stated: “All cases of sexual violence encroach on the rights to dignity and privacy of victims as enshrined in our Constitution. The NPA is committed to aggressively prosecuting these cases.”