On Tuesday April 26, the Wynberg Magistrate’s Sexual Offences Court handed a hefty sentence to a 23-year-old serial rapist.
In 2018, former investigating officer, Captain Herman Hanekom from Nyanga SAPS Family Violence, Child and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit made a connection in reported cases in the Philippi East precinct in which the accused used the same modus operandi.
He collected exhibits on all these similar cases and sent them to SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA analysis. The results revealed that all the cases were linked to a case that was opened in 2017 at Langa SAPS against Mzwanele Hohlo.
When the accused could not be reached at his address, the investigating officer found his mother in Willowvale in the Eastern Cape who confirmed the date of birth of the accused but had no knowledge of his whereabouts. Through the aid of the Department of Home Affairs, his ID number and birth certificate were obtained and his photograph was circulated.
It was not until his girlfriend laid charges of assault against him in 2019 that he was arrested. The girlfriend positively identified the suspect as Mzwanele Thando Hohlo when she was shown a picture.
One of the victims was raped twice and stabbed in the head with a scissor in an attempt to kill her.
The accused pleaded guilty on all charges and police spokesperson Ndakhe Gwala said he was sentenced to three life imprisonment terms for rape, two five-year imprisonment terms for attempted murder and 12-month imprisonment for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Furthermore, the Wynberg Magistrate’s Sexual Offences Court sentenced a 27-year-old man accused of rape to 35 years imprisonment for rape and three years for assault.
In March 2019, Sandile Tyhalelo attacked a defenceless, six-month pregnant women in broad daylight on a farm in Philippi.
The accused hit the victim on the head with a brick which knocked her down and proceeded to rape her twice. The victim suffered injuries to her legs, stomach, arms and back.
The accused was convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for the first charge of rape, 15 years imprisonment for the second rape charge and three years’ imprisonment for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
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