The High Court in Mpumalanga, sitting in Middelburg, has convicted and sentenced Joseph Thabang Selepe, aged 30, to four life terms imprisonment after was found guilty on for two counts of murder and two counts of rape.
Selepe committed the atrocious acts in Kwaggafontein, in the district of KwaMhlanga, according to Monica Nyuswa, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mpumalanga.
“The crimes were committed during the period between March 2020 to 04 May 2021. Selepe’s modus operandi was to accost his victims (drag them) to secluded areas rape, them and strangle them to death,” said Nyuswa.
The first victim, Pauline Sangweni, was staying a street away from Selepe’s place of residence.
“On 20 March 2020, the victim left Kwaggafontein, intending to catch a taxi en-route to KwaMhlanga, and she never came back home. Her lifeless body was found near Sokapo Secondary School, the following day,” said Nyuswa.
Sangweni’s lifeless body was half naked when it was found.
The second victim Zanele Mnguni, from KwaMhlanga, was last seen by her siblings on 11 December 2021 when she was going to Kwaggafontein Mall. She never came back home.
“She was later found raped and killed the following day by a passer-by near the same school where the first victim’s body was discovered,” said Nyuswa.
Selepe was linked to the crimes through DNA. He was arrested after he inserted his SIM card into one of his victim’s mobile phones.
In court, Selepe pleaded not guilty to the heinous crimes. He denied all allegations levelled against him.
State Advocate Themba Lusenga, led the testimonies of several witnesses including the evidence of a pathologist, an expert who confirmed that the victims were raped before they were strangled to death.
Post-mortem reports proving that the deceased women’s cause of death was “manual strangulation” were presented to the court.
In aggravation of the sentence, Lusenga argued that Selepe treated the victims as animals, by leaving them lying half naked on the street.
“If courts do not mete out appropriate sentences, society will lose confidence in the criminal justice system and people might be tempted to take the law into their own hands,” said Lusenga.
He requested the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence for such serious crimes.
Handing down the sentence, Judge Kgankie Phahlamohlaka took into the account the overwhelming evidence placed before the court.
The judge said he found no reason justifying deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment. He subsequently sentenced Selepe to four life terms behind bars.
Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority in Mpumalanga welcomed Selepe’s sentencing, adding that it often prosecutes numerous similar cases which affect the safety and well-being of communities.
The NPA said it will continue with its work, seeking justice for victims of crime.
On Thursday, IOL reported that the High Court in Mpumalanga, sitting in Breyten, sentenced serial rapist Nkosikhona Ntshalintshali, 36, to life and additional 110 years imprisonment for the string of rapes he committed in Piet Retief.
Ntshalintshali pleaded guilty to the crimes and was subsequently convicted on four counts of rape, four counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of housebreaking with intent to commit a crime.
“These offences were committed in Mafred Homes, Phola Park and Kempville Magadeni section in Piet Retief. During the period between November 2008 to June 2009, the accused would break into his victims’ homes, threaten them with a knife and rob them of their valuables,” said Nyuswa.
IOL