DURBAN: 28 June 2023 –The Ramsgate Magistrates Court has sentenced Mthokozisi Khowa, 21-year-old to life imprisonment for raping and kidnapping a 14-year-old girl. On 20 October 2020, the suspect raped the victim at Elim Mission. The suspect kidnapped the girl and raped her repeatedly until she managed to text her sister requesting her to call the police and send them to the house of the man who had kept her in his house against her will.
The matter was reported at Paddock SAPS and the docket was transferred to the Margate Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) for further investigation. The suspect made several court appearances before he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and a further eight years for kidnapping. In another incident 32-year-old Phindani Jwara was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and five years for kidnapping. The accused made several appearances at the Umlazi Magistrates Court before he was sentenced.
On 26 December 2021, the 6-year-old victim was playing with her friends at Ezimeleni area when she disappeared. One of her friends mentioned that she was taken by the suspect who carried her to his shack. The mother of the child proceeded to the suspects house and caught him in the act. Umlazi police were summoned and they arrested the suspect. The docket was transferred to the Umlazi Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) for further investigation.