A South African man has been sentenced to 42 life phrases after being convicted of 90 counts of rape, together with the assault of younger women. Nkosinathi Phakathi, 40, carried out his brutal assaults in and round Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, over a nine-year interval, from 2012 to 2021.
Phakathi focused schoolgirls, assaulting some on their option to or from faculty, whereas others had been attacked of their properties.In line with the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA), he typically posed as an electrician to achieve entry into victims’ residences earlier than committing the crimes.
The court docket heard that Phakathi would additionally pressure youngsters to witness the assaults. Choose Lesego Makolomakwe, delivering the decision on the Johannesburg excessive court docket, condemned Phakathi’s actions as notably heinous as a result of vulnerability of his victims. The choose stated, “Our courts have an obligation to impose the suitable sentences, particularly when coping with circumstances involving younger, harmless, defenceless women.”
Some victims had been assaulted whereas dressed at school uniforms, others on their option to work, and a number of other had been violated inside their properties, typically within the presence of their households, the choose added.
Phakathi appeared in court docket on crutches, wearing a gray tracksuit, following a 2021 incident by which he was shot within the leg by police throughout his arrest. His crimes additionally included kidnapping, theft, and assault.
South Africa continues to grapple with a excessive price of violent crime, together with rape and homicide. Current police statistics point out over 9,300 rapes had been reported between April and June 2024.
