Last week, the Cala Regional Court sentenced Vusumzi Magcisa Stokhwe (26) to life imprisonment after he was convicted of raping an 18 year-old woman two years ago. According to evidence presented in court, in the evening of 22 December 2015 at about 19h00, Stokhwe ambushed his victim next to the gate of a shop in their home village of Barracks in Ndwana area in the district of Cala.
He hit the unsuspecting victim in the head with a brick causing depression to her skull. He dragged the unconscious victim to nearby bushes and raped her twice. He fled afterwards, and after the victim regained consciousness she reported the rape at her home and was able to identify the rapist as someone who had attended the same school as her.
During trial, Stokhwe pleaded not guilty claiming mistaken identity but DNA results linked him to the crime were submitted to court and he was accordingly found guilty. Arguing in aggravation of sentence, Regional Court Prosecutor, Monde Magenu revealed to the court that Stokhwe had a pending case of murder in which he is accused of killing his grandmother while out on bail in the rape matter, thus the society had to be protected from him.
The NPA welcomes the sentence with the hope that it will deter other would-be rapists who prey on defenceless women and children.
Enquiries:
Luxolo Tyali
Regional Spokesperson: DPP Mthatha
E-mail: ltyali@npa.gov.za
Tel: 047 502 2630
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