A 34-year-old man, Siyabonga Christopher Xulu, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and rape of a woman in the Osizweni area near Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, in June 2019.
Xulu was assisted by two unknown men in kidnapping the victim, a resident of his neighbourhood.
KZN National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, stated that Xulu assaulted the victim when she resisted his attempts to undress her before raping her in an open field.
Following the assault, he dragged her to a graveyard and left her there.
The victim eventually regained consciousness, reported the ordeal at a nearby homestead, and received medico-legal assistance at a Thuthuzela Care Centre in Madadeni. Xulu was linked to the crime through DNA evidence and positively identified by the victim.
The court heard the victim’s testimony that she suffered significant physical injuries and ongoing psychological trauma, which has resulted in her distrust of men.
“In addition to the life sentence for rape, Xulu received a five-year concurrent sentence for kidnapping and was declared unfit to possess a firearm,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
In a separate matter, the Ngwelezane Regional Court sentenced a 32-year-old man to life imprisonment plus 10 years for the rape and assault of his own mother on December 1, 2024. The incident occurred at their shared homestead in the Nseleni area near Empangeni, where they lived in separate rondavels.
Ramkisson-Kara detailed the events, explaining that the son knocked on his mother’s rondavel and began shouting at her, accusing her of speaking about him to others.
“Despite her denials, he made threats, undressed, and then physically assaulted her by slapping and punching her. He proceeded to rape her in the presence of a minor child,” she said.
The mother managed to escape by requesting permission to fetch water. She immediately fled with the child to a neighbour’s home, where she initially only reported the assault.
The full ordeal was disclosed to a relative the following day, who took her to the police station. The son fled the scene but was apprehended by his cousins two weeks later and handed over to the police.
In her victim impact statement, the mother expressed horror and deep violation, stating that she never imagined her own child would perpetrate such an act against her. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and declared the son unfit to possess a firearm.
Ramkisson-Kara concluded: “Curbing the scourge of sexual offences and gender-based violence is a priority for the NPA. We remain resolute in our fight for justice on behalf of the victims of crime.”
