Sam Makhubela, 65, was convicted and sentenced to an effective 20 years in jail for raping a ten-year-old girl, the SA Police Service in Mpumalanga said.
Spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the court heard how Makhubela lured his victim to his house whenever she was alone at home or cornered her whenever she was sent to the shops by her family.
“The string of rapes was discovered when the victim’s mother saw the victim with some chocolates at home. Upon questioning her, she informed her mother that she received the items from a friend,” Mohlala said.
The girl could not convince her mother who decided to follow-up at the girl’s school. The little girl’s friend denied any knowledge of the chocolates.
“Through the intervention of the victim's teacher, it was revealed that the innocent girl received some chocolates from a man whose identity was unknown at that stage. Both the victim's mother and the teacher became more suspicious then took the victim to hospital where the rape was confirmed,” said Mohlala.
The matter was then brought to the attention of the police at Tonga on June 19, 2018, where a rape case with two counts was eventually registered.
The investigation was handled by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit.
An intensive investigation led to the arrest of the arrest of Makhubela on June 26, 2018.
“Investigation further revealed that the accused would threaten to kill the victim and her family should she divulge his unethical acts to anyone,” said Mohlala.
“However, his tricks could not work in his favour as he was convicted and sentenced for the two counts of rape to 20 years imprisonment on each count.”
The court ordered for the two sentences to run concurrently, which means Makhubela will serve an effective 20 years behind bars.
His name will also be entered into the register of sexual offenders, and Makhubela has also been deemed unfit to work with children.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela welcomed the sentence, declaring that gender-based violence and child abuse remain “serious challenges” in the communities.
Manamela commended the victim's mother and school teacher for the efforts which unearthed the heinous crime.
IOL