A 28-year-old serial r*pist, Evans Ramahlo, has been sentenced to 102 years imprisonment by the High Court in Polokwane, South Africa after he was convicted of robbery with firearms and r*pe charges on Monday, October 30, 2023.
Provincial police spokesperson in Limpopo, Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba, in a statement on Tuesday, October 31, disclosed that the convict is also known as “Killer”, which is his nickname.
“The court heard that during January 2021 and November 2021, in Motupa village, Bolobedu South, under the Tzaneen policing area, communities were terrorised by two armed males accused of targeting couples who could be found strolling around the village at night,” Mashaba said.
The assailants would rob the couples of their belongings such as cellphones, and r*ped the female victims in front of their partners.
“He was also targeting couples driving motor vehicles. He would rob them of their valuables and compel male victims to have s3x with female victims, after he r*ped them,” said Mashaba.
The police in Limpopo opened cases of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and r*pe.
The cases were transferred to the Tzaneen family violence, children protection, and sexual offences unit, and Sergeant Glenda Mathebula was assigned to probe the crimes, with the assistance of the Tzaneen tracing team.
The dedicated law enforcement team managed to gather information about the possible culprits.
“One of the victims’ cellphones was recovered, and later the accused (Ramahlo) was traced and arrested on Monday February 14, 2022. The investigating officer opposed bail, until the accused was convicted and subsequently sentenced,” said Mashaba.
DNA linked Ramahlo to three other cases committed in the same area.
Ramahlo was convicted and sentenced on the following charges;
– For four counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, Ramahlo was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on each count, which translates to 52 years in total.
– On two counts of r*pe, Ramahlo was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for each count, of which five years are wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition that Ramahlo is not convicted of rape during the period of suspension.
The court ordered that the sentences on the charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and for rape will run concurrently.
Ramahlo was also declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of the Firearms Control Act.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has welcomed the sentence handed down to the “heartless rapist”.
“We welcome the lengthy sentence imposed on this senseless criminal. The sentence will go a long way in restoring trust in the criminal justice system
“The sentence augurs well, especially as the country is about to observe the 16 Days of Activism campaign for no violence against women and children,” said Hadebe.
