South Africa News

Man gets 3 life terms plus 279 years in jail for rape and murder

A 28-year-old man was sentenced to three life terms and a combined 279 years on 27 charges including rape and murder, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.

Spokesperson Henry Mamothame said Thabang Gordon Moloi was sentenced at the North West High Court sitting in Klerksdorp.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment on a count of murder and two of rape.

His unrelated charges included murder, attempted murder, multiple robberies with aggravating circumstances, multiple kidnappings, multiple housebreakings, theft, attempted escaping from lawful custody and escaping from lawful custody

“On the night of July 10, 2016, at Ikageng near Potchefstroom, Moloi kidnapped an adult female who he met on the street and dragged her to a nearby house and raped her. In a separate incident that took place on the night of August 14, 2017, Moloi together with an accomplice known as Rodger met a couple on the street and started assaulting the boyfriend with stones on the head and wielding their knives. They then dragged the lady to the next street and took turns to rape her,” Mamothame said.

They approached a man who was in a car with his girlfriend and threatened them with knives, kidnapped them and instructed the man to drive towards Klerksdorp.

“They stopped along the way and tied up the man with his T-shirt and demanded bank cards and pin codes. The victim managed to escape while the car was in motion towards Klerksdorp where the two intended to make a withdrawal at a bank. The two subsequently drove to Jouberton to drop off the victim’s girlfriend before taking off with his car, bank cards, and a laptop.”

They kidnapped three woman at knifepoint, took them to an isolated location where they tied them up with shoelaces, and proceeded to rape one of them while recording themselves. Later they robbed them of money before fleeing the scene.

“In a separate incident that took place on the night of December 10, 2017 at Ikageng, Moloi, and Rodger came across two adult females near a pub; they kidnapped them at knifepoint and took them to an isolated area where they robbed them of their cellphones and demanded their bank cards and pin codes.

“Moloi left the scene alone to go and withdraw money from the victims’ bank accounts. Rodger proceeded to rape one of the victims in the absence of the first accused. The female who was watching while her friend was raped managed to grab Rodger’s knife and stab him to death.”

Moloi was arrested on December 19 in 2017 while detained at Potchefstroom police station and waiting to appear in court. He attempted to escape but police managed to arrest him.

He tried to escape again while being transported from Potchefstroom police station to Orkney police station.

He finally managed to take off the foot-cuffs on him and jumped out of the police bakkie and escaped.

“Amongst other offences he committed following his escape, the court convicted him for breaking into a house and robbing cellphones from three women.

“He was also found guilty of robbing an adult female with a Toyota Tazz of money and drove around with her in Jouberton and Albania before dumping her on the road. Police later recovered the vehicle in a damaged state,” Mamothame said.

In April 2018 at Primosa township near Potchefstroom, Moloi together with a man known as Muzwa accosted a man who was standing near a road; they stabbed him in the neck and stomach multiple times before robbing him of his cellphone, shoes, trousers, and money.

“They then put him in the boot of their car, drove off from the scene, and dumped him in an isolated area. They hit him with stones on the head before fleeing the scene. The man was certified dead on the scene upon his discovery.”

He was rearrested on August 20 in 2018 and more charges we added to his docket.

“He is currently serving a 15-year sentence on a charge of kidnapping and robbery and he has another pending rape case that is unrelated to the 27 offences he is sentenced on. He also has four other convictions to his name – that includes theft, two robberies with aggravating circumstances, and kidnapping,” Mamothame said.

-IOL

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