'I can't bring back this life'
2007-12-15 07:21
Grahamstown - An Eastern Cape man, who taunted a husband before killing him and then raping his wife, was sent to prison for an effective 28 years on Friday.
Grahamstown High Court Judge Cecil Somyalo sentenced Vuyisilie Balani, 42, of Ndlovini, Port Alfred, to 18 years in prison for murder, and 12 years for rape.
He ordered that two years of the rape sentence run concurrently with the term imposed for murder.
Earlier this week, Somyalo found Balani guilty of the murder of the man who was 47, and the rape of his wife, 42, on April 5, this year, at the New Rest location, Port Alfred.
Balani pleaded not guilty to both charges, but admitted to having "consensual sexual intercourse with the woman that night, and further claimed they had had a secret love affair for 19 years".
'Brutal, degrading and humiliating'
Describing the crime of rape as "brutal, degrading and humiliating", Somyalo said there were no substantial or compelling circumstances that could allow him to impose less than the minimum sentences prescribed by legislation.
"No sentence I pass on the accused can bring back the life he has taken. This was a brazen attack on the man and his wife, as they were going about their own business.
"The husband was stabbed to death when he intervened to protect his wife. She was dragged into the bushes, stripped naked and then raped. She was also sodomised and throttled.
"The accused taunted the husband about having sex with his wife.
"Society is up in arms about these crimes perpetrated on women and children, who are the most vulnerable and defenceless. They look to the courts to bring these offenders to book."
He said both the murder and rape convictions fell outside the ambit of those crimes, which attract mandatory life sentences.
Somyalo said no psychological assessment of the impact of the rape on the woman had been conducted.
"However, I am of the view that she must have suffered enormously, both physically, psychologically and emotionally. And this suffering has been greatly compounded by the death of her husband, in his vain attempt to save her from this trauma."
- SAPA