By: Staff Reporter
The Johannesburg high court has sentenced the serial rapist dubbed the Tembisa beast to 12 life sentences and a further 300 years in prison.
Gift Mkhwanazi was sentenced for a spate of rapes he committed in and around Tembisa from 2013 to June 2019. The man dubbed the Beast of Tembisa, was charged with 104 counts ranging from rape, kidnapping, the pointing of a firearm, robbery with aggravating circumstances, assault and attempted murder.
National Prosecution Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the South African Police Service (SAPS) had registered more than 19 dockets with the same modus operandi where women were attacked on the streets at night or early hours of the morning.
“The women could not identify the perpetrator as he accosted them from behind, pointed them with a firearm or knife to force them into bushes or secluded areas. Once there, he would rob them of their cash and cell phones and thereafter rape them,” she said.
Mjonondwane added that Mkhwanazi was arrested after one of his friends was found in possession of one of the complainant’s cell phones. He was further linked through DNA that was extracted from one crime scene and complainants.
“The accused testified that he does not know any of the witnesses that testified in court. He admitted the DNA report but failed to explain why the DNA found on 17 victims and one crime scene matched his DNA. He further denied that he ever raped, kidnapped or robbed the witnesses and that he never had a knife or firearm in his possession,” Mjonondwane said.
State Advocate Adele De Klerk submitted that there was no evidence to substantiate any finding that any of the witnesses conspired with other witnesses to implicate the accused.
