Twelve life sentences plus 75 years in prison for serial rapist

Bhekithemba Fanozi Nxumalo was sentenced to twelve life sentences plus an additional 75 years in prison by the High Court in Mtubatuba for a series of rapes.

The verdict was announced on June 10, 2024.

“Nxumalo’s reign of terror began in July 2012 when he broke into a house in Mdungandlovu Reserve around midnight and found an elderly woman sleeping with her two granddaughters.

“Nxumalo demanded money from the grandmother at knifepoint and when he could not find any, he raped her 24-year-old granddaughter.

“The grandmother and younger granddaughter were rescued by the 24-year-old granddaughter, who was able to call back her brother who came to their aid. Nxumalo managed to escape into the darkness,” police said in a statement.

According to police, Nxumalo continued his rape spree, targeting young women who were travelling alone.

He dragged her into the bushes and sugar cane fields, threatened her with a knife and then raped her.

In most cases he raped his victims more than once.

“His ten-year rape spree came to an abrupt end when police cornered and arrested him in April 2021. Nxumalo’s appeal was rejected and he was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” police said.

Police said the investigative work of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit had brought the 42-year-old’s series of rapes to an end.

In other convictions, the Empangeni FCS Unit secured a life sentence for a 59-year-old man who was found guilty of raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter.

The Esikhaleni Regional Court heard that the stepfather had raped the little girl several times when the mother was not around.

The court also sentenced a 58-year-old man to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of rape in a case in which he raped his 12-year-old granddaughter in Madlankala in February 2024.

The Empangeni Regional Court also sentenced a 25-year-old man to 25 years in prison after he was found guilty of assaulting and raping his 22-year-old girlfriend.

According to police, the victim had to be hospitalized after attempting suicide following the rape. – SAnews.gov.za