A 23-year-old man, Jackson Manamela, has been handed a life sentence for r*ping an 84-year-old woman in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Mahwelereng Regional Court in Pretoria sentenced Manamela on Tuesday, June 21, 2023, after convicting him on robbery and r*pe charges.
When the May 2022 incident happened, Manamela was on bail after he had been arrested for housebreaking with the intention to steal and commit robbery at the same woman’s house.
The court heard that Manamela found the 84-years-old woman cooking outside her shack on May 9, 2022 at Millennium village under Mahwelereng policing precinct outside Mokopane,” Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba narrated.
“He unexpectedly attacked and stabbed the elderly victim with a pair of scissors on the forehead and dragged her into the shack,” Ledwaba said.
Manamela robbed the woman of R70 in cash and her social grant card. He proceeded to r*pe the elderly woman before he fled the scene.
“Afterwards, the victim went to the neighbour’s house and informed them about the ordeal and police were immediately summoned to the scene.
“Robbery and r*pe cases were immediately opened and the suspect was subsequently apprehended after just three days on May 12, 2022,”
said Ledwaba.
The case was transferred to Mokopane Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) for further investigations, and Sergeant Ramokone Tinah Matsimbi was assigned to probe the matter.
“Through her dedication and commitment, she (Matsimbi) ensured that Jackson Manamela was never granted bail after it was discovered that he was out on bail for housebreaking with the intention to steal and commit robbery on December 2, 2019 committed against the same 84-year-old victim,” said Ledwaba.
The two cases were combined and the accused was found guilty on the following counts:
Count 1 – robbery – three years imprisonment.
Count 2 – r*pe – life imprisonment
Count 3 – housebreaking with the intention to rob and commit robbery – 15 years imprisonment.
The sentences will run concurrently and Manamela was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
