Judge and gavel in courtroom

The Tzaneen Regional Court convicted and sentenced a 32-year-old man, Clifford Baloyi, to life imprisonment plus ten years for two counts of rape.

The convictions and sentences emanated from incidents that took place in June 2017, at Lwandlamuni village. Baloyi would target women from Nwamitwa village, accosted and forced them to secluded areas at knifepoint, where he raped them. One of his victims was a minor girl of 14 years and was threatened with a knife. The accused was unknown to the victims and the community. During the trial, Baloyi pleaded not guilty to all charges and the Regional court prosecutor led the testimonies of the victims and medical doctor.

The accused was also linked by DNA. The prosecutor also submitted Victim Impact Statements (VIS) detailing how the incidents negatively impacted the victims. Victims expressed the humiliation and trauma they suffered because of the ordeals. The court found him guilty as charged. In arguing for an appropriate sentence, prosecutor Emmanuel Phatudi submitted to the court that rape is a serious offence which is a humiliating, degrading and brutal act which invades the privacy and dignity of the victims.

He submitted that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances justifying a lesser sentence. The prosecutor further argued that the court should not deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Regional Court Magistrate, Mrs Antolize Lamminga, agreed with the state and remarked that how he committed the offences shows that women are not safe to walk in public freely and he was not remorseful. One of the victims is now suffering from depression because of the incident.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Ivy Thenga welcomed the sentence and hoped that the imposed sentence would indeed send a strong message to would-be offenders and further commended Prosecutors and investigating officer Sergeant Mulungwa of Family Violence Child and Sexual Offences in Tzaneen.

Meanwhile, in another unrelated case, the Groblersdal Regional Court sentenced Shonono Amos Sibande (44), to life imprisonment following the conviction of rape of an eight-year-old girl. 

The court heard that on the day of the incident on 02 September 2020, the accused was working at the victim’s homestead at Tafelkop.

He was employed to erect the wall and to clean the yard. The victim was left alone in the house by the mother while watching television.

The accused entered the house and found the victim sleeping on a sofa, he undressed the victim and raped her. He further threatened to kill her if she told anyone. The victim did not report the incident to anyone.

Almost a year later, the victim’s mother became concerned about the changing behaviour of the child and her loss of weight. As a result, she took the child to the local clinic and the child was referred to the local hospital wherein it was confirmed by the doctor that the victim was raped. It was then that the victim reported to the mother about the rape and the matter was reported to the police. 

The Regional Court Prosecutor, Sifiso Miya led the evidence of the victim and her mother to prove the case for the state. In aggravation of sentence, prosecutor Miya submitted that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances present for the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. He further argued that the accused was placed in a position of trust and had broken such trust by violating the victim. The court found that indeed there were no substantial and compelling circumstances and sentenced the accused to life imprisonment. The court further ordered that the name of the accused be recorded in the Sexual Offenders Register.

The NPA welcomes the sentence, and the Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Ivy Thenga commended the good work done by prosecutor Miya and Investigating Officer, Warrant Officer Wilson Thoka.