|
Rapist shocked at sentence
02/11/2006 13:59 - (SA)
Walter Ka Nkosi
Nelspruit - A rapist who chose to defend himself in court was shocked when he was sentenced to ten years in jail, and complained that he didn't understand court procedures.
When Bongani Sithole chose to defend himself in the regional court, he pleaded not guilty and then refused to testify in his defence.
He was found guilty and the case was referred to the high court for sentencing.
When he appeared in the Nelspruit circuit of the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday, he had a lawyer, who argued that Sithole not only did not understand court procedures but that the regional court interpreter was incompetent.
Judge Nico Coetzee dismissed the arguments, saying that Sithole was entirely to blame for his fate as he had been asked three times to testify in the regional court and that the presiding magistrate had even adjourned the matter for an hour to give him time to make up his mind.
"The magistrate followed all procedures in terms of (the law) and your constitutional rights, but you chose to ignore him, aware that your
decision not to testify would weaken your case," he said.
Sithole, 26, was found guilty of raping an ex-girlfriend at gunpoint on October 28, 2004. He has been kept in custody for the past 18 months.
- African Eye
|
News
