A 45-year-old man from KwaTshemese village near Mthatha has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his wife in front of their minor daughter.
The Mthatha Regional Court handed down the sentence after finding the man guilty of rape, assault, violating a protection order, and forcing a minor to witness a sexual offence, provincial NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said in a statement.
The court imposed an additional three years for assault, five years for violating the protection order, and four years for causing a child to witness a sexual offence.
‘UNREPENTANT AND UNREMORSEFUL’
All sentences will run concurrently with the life sentence.
Tyali said the man had a long history of domestic violence against his wife, which led her to obtain a protection order in November 2022 preventing him from assaulting her or exposing their children to violence.
Tyali said the life sentence emanates from an incident on 1 January 2023 when the man demanded that his wife join him in a separate house within their homestead.
When she refused, he attacked her.
He dragged her to the living room, ordered her to undress, and raped her in front of their daughter.
He also assaulted the child when she tried to help her mother. Tyali said the man fled the scene and evaded arrest until May 2023.
“During the trial, he pleaded not guilty, denying all the charges against him without any plausible explanation,” Tyali said in a statement.
Tyali said the court described him as “unrepentant and unremorseful”.
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo welcomed the sentence.
