Rapist jailed for 40 years
2008-09-12 21:07
Warren Mabona and Thabisile Khoza
Kwaggafontein - A gun-toting rapist was jailed for 40 years in the Middelburg Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Oupa Mabena, 24, of Boekenhouthoek village near Kwaggafontein, Mpumalanga, was found guilty of raping a woman and a teenager at gunpoint within hours of each other on September 14 2003.
Mabena first raped a 20-year-old woman when she and two friends left a tavern in Vlaklaagte No 2.
Her friends ran away when he fired shots into the air.
He beat and raped her for about two hours in the bush and then took her back with him to the road.
They came across a 17-year-old girl and a friend walking along the roadside.
The first victim was forced to search the two girls and take their money.
He then grabbed the teenager and raped her in the bush too.
Mabena was arrested on April 14 2004 after going into hiding.
In 2006, he escaped from custody and was rearrested shortly afterwards following a community tip-off.
On Friday, he was found guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of armed robbery and one of assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm.
- African Eye