A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 180 years imprisonment and four life sentences by the Circuit of the Pretoria High Court sitting in Delmas on Wednesday for rape, robbery, and kidnapping, the Mpumalanga police said.
Spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said that Sipho Gift Ntuli was on trial for ten rapes, eight robberies, and kidnapping in KwaMhlanga from 2012. He said Ntuli raped eleven young girls and women between the ages of 14 and 38.
"The court heard that Ntuli would viciously rape and rob his victims of cash, cellular phones and other valuable items. His reign of terror abruptly ended in 2014 when the long arm of the law pounced on him, having been fingered by one of his victims. The accused is said to have appeared at the KwaMhlanga Magistrate's Court and was granted bail, however, he resumed his evil deeds raping more victims," Hlathi said.
"He was rearrested after one of the victims was able to identify him at the KwaMhlanga Magistrate’s Court, around September 2016, whilst attending court for a previous case of rape. When the police further probed him, they were able to link him to more rape cases committed while he was out on bail."
Hlathi said that Judge Vusumuzi Nkosi mentioned that Ntuli had a "selfish sexual desire with young girls as well as matured women and thus hurt them".
He said that Nkosi mentioned that Ntuli must get rehabilitated behind high walls of prison so that he can learn his lesson.
"All the sentences will run concurrently with the life sentences and Ntuli will only be considered for parole after having served at least 25 years of his sentence," said Hlathi.
"The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma said that the sentences meted to the accused will serve as a deterrent to other would-be criminals that crime does not pay."