[News] South African man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping 90-year-old grandmother and brutally assaulting her with machete

The Groblersdal Regional Court in Limpopo, South Africa, has sentenced a 35-year-old man to life imprisonment after he was convicted of raping and assaulting a 90-year-old woman.

 

The court heard that on July 31, 2022, Ephraim Matshela Madiba broke into the house of the elderly woman at Elandskraal and found a machete in the victim’s bedroom.

 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Rgional Spokesperson, Limpopo Division, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, in a statement on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, said Madiba assaulted the old woman with the machete before raping her.

 

He thereafter fled the scene with the said machete.

 

Limpopo provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, said the police were alerted about the incident, and they opened cases of rape and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

 

The nonagenarian victim was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.

 

“The rape case was transferred to Mokopane family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit and assigned to Sergeant Lesetja Langa for further investigation,” said Ledwaba.

 

At the time, Madiba was traced by police and arrested as a suspect in the heinous crime.

 

“Police also recovered the panga with blood stains, which was used to assault the victim,” said Ledwaba.

 

The Groblersdal Regional Court sentenced Madiba to life imprisonment for the rape and an additional 24 months in jail for the assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

 

The sentences will be served concurrently.

 

Meanwhile, Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, in welcoming the lengthy sentence imposed on Madiba, has saluted the investigating officer and his team.

 

“We welcome the life sentence and we are glad that justice was finally served,” said Hadebe