A homeless man who was previously convicted of rape was sentenced to life imprisonment for repeating the same crime. The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court sentenced 37-year-old Nkosinathi Seepe to one life term for rape, 15 years for robbery and three years for assault.
Seepe was convicted for rape of a 39-year-old woman in December 2018 after he offered to accompany the victim to buy food. Lumka Mahanjana, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in Gauteng, said, “The victim had gone to a club in the evening when she ran into Seepe who she knew through affiliations.
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“As the night progressed the victim became hungry and Seepe offered to accompany her to buy food outside. While walking, Seepe started assaulting her and dragged her to his tent near Bosman station where he raped her.” Mahanjana said Seepe fled the scene, and the victim called the police.
In March 2020 the victim went to the same club with her sister and while she was there, she spotted the rape suspect and immediately called the police. The police responded and the suspect was arrested on the very same day. “He has been in custody after NPA successfully opposed the bail application,” said Mahanjana.
Prosecutor Sifiso Hlongwane asked the court to impose a very harsh sentence, because Seepe was not a first-time offender and he did not learn from his previous jail term of six years imprisonment for a similar offence. Despite the fact that he was homeless, the court had to send a strong message to repeat offenders.
Source: IOL, Times Live, image from IOL
