Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for repeatedly raping a 17-year-old teenage girl on Limpopo Island.
Michele Dottavio/EyeEm/Getty Images
- Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for repeatedly raping a 17-year-old teenage girl on Limpopo Island.
- They also forced her male friend to have sex with her and made him watch them rape her.
- During the ordeal, they had the girl assault her friend.
Two Limpopo men who tortured, raped and assaulted two of their teenage friends have been sentenced to multiple life sentences.
Thaban Joel Makgopa, 32, and Alone Makhubele, 34, were found guilty and sentenced to a total of four life sentences and 39 years in prison for their crimes.
The Renyenye District Court heard that on March 25, 2017, at around 17:00, a 17-year-old boy and two girls were attacked by the accused as they were walking on the street in a village near Tzaneen.
They took the boy's mobile phone and forced both boys to a local playground.
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said on Wednesday:
Hardcore criminals took turns raping the girl while the boy was forced to watch. They then instructed the boy to have sex with his friend. After a series of ordeals, the defendant assaulted the male victim and then forced the teenage girl to do the same.
He said police were investigating cases of rape, forcible rape, robbery and assault.
The case was assigned to Sergeant Glenda Mathebula of the Tzaneen Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit, who was able to locate a witness who helped identify the defendant.
The two were arrested, and DNA tests linked Makhubele to the rape.
