Heartless rapist, Arone Makhubele
Two heartless criminals, Thabang Joel Makgopa (32) and Arone Makhubele (34), will spend the rest of their life behind burglar bars.
This comes after they were found guilty and sentenced to a combined four life sentences and 39 years imprisonment for the horrendous crimes they committed against two teenagers.
The court heard that on 25 March 2017 at about 17:00, two teenagers, a boy and girl, both aged 17 were attacked by the accused while walking on the street at a village in Tzaneen policing area.
They robbed the teenage boy his cellphone and forced both victims to the local sports ground. The hardcore criminals took turns in raping the girl while the boy was forced to watch. They then instructed the boy to have sexual intercourse with his friend. After the whole ordeal, the accused assaulted the male victim and further forced the teenage girl to assault him as well.
The victims reported the matter to their families. Police opened cases of rape, compelled rape, robbery, and assault.
The case was allocated to Sergeant Glenda Mathebula of Tzaneen Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit, who applied her skills to gather all the evidence. She was able to locate a witness who assisted in identifying the accused. The duo was arrested, and Makhubele was further linked to the rape through DNA.
The state successfully opposed bail until the accused were ultimately convicted and sentenced to lengthy sentences by the Lenyenye Regional Court on Monday, 19 February 2024.
The sentences were passed as follows:
Count 1: Double life imprisonment sentence for Rape and compelled Rape for both Accused.
Count 2: 10 years imprisonment for causing children to witness a sexual offense and 5 years imprisonment for assault.
Effective 10 years imprisonment for 2 counts of robbery against Thabang Makgopa only.
Effective 14 years imprisonment for 2 counts of robbery against Arone Makhubele only.
“This is a milestone achievement for our province as two of the ruthless criminals were removed from society. These victims endured a very tramautising incident, and we hope they will now have peace knowing the perpetrators are removed from the society,” said Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe.
Convicted rapist, Joel Makgopa
Investigating officer, Sergeant Glenda Mathebula