By Jonk wa Mashamba
Editor-in-Chief
news@alexreporter.co.za
The Ga-Rankuwa Regional Court sentenced Thabo Mathibe(28), to life imprisonment for rape and 15 years for murdering a 14-year-old girl in Kgabalatsane in the North West.
Police reports reveal that on 27 November 2019, the victim was sleeping when Mathibe broke into her home, attacked, raped, and murdered her afterward.
Her lifeless body was discovered by her mother, who heard a commotion in her room, and upon investigating, saw the accused fleeing the scene.
According to Henry Mamothame,
NPA Spokesperson, the mother then called for help.
The neighbors went in search of Mathibe who was later apprehended, and the police were called to arrest him.
The accused stayed the duration of the trial in police custody as he abandoned his bail application.
Mamothame said that during court proceedings, Mathibe pleaded not guilty to both charges.
“The state prosecutor Adv Thabo Motlhamme pleaded with the court not to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence as the crimes committed are serious.
“Magistrate Aggrey Sephothi agreed with the state and also alluded to the need to fight the scourge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in the country,” said Mamothame.
The Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr. Rachel Makhari-Sekhaolelo, lauded the collaboration between the police and the state prosecutor in bringing the perpetrator to book.
