On Wednesday, 18 January 2023, the Thohoyandou Regional Court sentenced a 26-year-old man to life in prison for the rape and murder of a teenage girl in Giyani on Christmas Day, 2020.
The suspect allegedly raped the 15-year-old girl after purchasing chips from her.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the victim knew the suspect when she arrived to Mavalani village in the Giyani policing area to celebrate Christmas Day with friends.
The man then offered to buy her chips, but when they returned to their residence in the village of Bon’wani, the accused seized her.
Additionally, the dead attorney’s wife has been definitively linked to his murder.
The police spokesman, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, stated that the young man then forced the woman into a bar where he offered to purchase her alcohol. The victim refused and pleaded with the man to let her go, but he refused and forced her into the surrounding bushes with a knife while reminding her that he had already purchased the chips.
“Upon arrival, the accused raped and then strangled the defenseless girl. In an effort to conceal the horrible crime, he dropped the body in a dam and placed a large boulder on top. “A fisherman discovered the body and immediately notified the police,” Mojapelo said.
Five women were allegedly gang-raped in two funeral homes in Limpopo during a heist.
With the assistance of the Johannesburg Metro police, the suspect, Novice Mathebula, was located and apprehended at Protea Glen, south of Soweto in Gauteng province. He went in court multiple times to request bail, but the investigating officer was able to oppose it until Wednesday, when he was ultimately condemned.
Detective Constable Emmanuel Fulufhelo Nndwambi, who was tasked to further investigate the case, has been lauded for his remarkable work in conclusively linking the 26-year-old male to the incident.
»Life in prison for the man who bought a young girl’s chips before raping and killing her«