Tembisa gang rapists sentenced
2009-09-04 19:38
Johannesburg - The South Gauteng High Court handed down sentences of between 17 and 20 years on Friday after finding seven men guilty of raping a 26-year-old Tembisa woman in 2005.
The attack took place when the men, Thabiso Thukwane, 23, Sello Mohlala, 22, Oupa Mohlala, 22, Bongani Nhlapo, 21, Moeketsi Mphuti, 20, Kabelo Mwale, 30 and Mojalefa Seleka , 25, broke into a house in which the woman lived with a friend.
The men raped the woman, now 30-years-old, at gunpoint.
The woman lied to the men, saying she was pregnant, in the hope they would have mercy on her.
Instead the men pulled the woman out of her home and forced her to walk the streets naked in the early hours of the morning.
They took her to an abandoned shack where she was forced to lie down next to a pit toilet and continued to rape her.
Judge Lucy Mailula said the accused did not show remorse for the crime.
She said the attack had taken place in a brutal and unhygienic manner, saying the gang had returned to rape the woman when she was on her way to seek help.
"It is clear from the victim impact report that she was emotionally traumatised and was described as being an emotional wreck now," Mailula said.
The woman had suffered injuries to her womb and bladder in the attack.
The court was adjourned to after lunch to hear if there would be any applications for leave to appeal.
- SAPA