Serial Rape Suspect Violates 70-Year-Old
Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday November 23, 2021 06:00
The suspect is facing counts over a few offences, one of which includes the rape of a 70-year-old woman.
The accused, Lucky Ndlovu, allegedly raped the woman on November 16, 2021 near farms in Mathangwane. In the second count, the State alleges that before raping the complainant, Ndlovu robbed the victim of P370 and a cellphone worth P300 using violence.
The prosecutor, Tsagae Marape of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said that a plea in the matters should be reserved since the case was still fresh. Marape then called the investigating officer (IO), detective inspector, Joseph Modipe to give reasons why the State is opposed to Ndlovu’s prospects for bail. Modipe told the court that on November 16, Tatitown police received a report of a rape and robbery incident that was allegedly committed by a local man against the same complainant. “The offences allegedly happened when the complainant was walking in the bush from the Mbakile farm to Mathangwane village. When we carried out investigations and through the help of informants, we managed to look for and subsequently arrest the accused yesterday (Thursday).
“We continued with our investigations and managed to recover two Subscriber Identity/Identification Module (SIM) cards, which we suspect belong to the complainant. When we asked the accused where the cellphone was, he told us that he had taken it to one Mabutho for charging. Regarding the money the accused allegedly stole from the complainant, he told us that he used the money.
Mabutho also confirmed that indeed the accused gave him a cellphone to charge,” Modipe said. After the police managed to arrest Ndlovu on Thursday, Modipe added, the police went to look for the complainant to gather more evidence but they did not manage to locate her. “We are yet to extract some swabs from the accused, which will then be taken to the forensic laboratory for an analysis hence we apply that he should be further remanded in custody. Our investigations are also at their initial stages and we are yet to record statements from potential witnesses who stay at the farms around Mathangwane outside Francistown.
The accused is also a flight risk since he tried to escape upon seeing the police car when we went to arrest him. Also, there are allegations that the accused is responsible for a spate of unresolved sexual offences in and around Mathangwane village.
I am yet to investigate those cases,” Modipe stated.
Modipe went on: “Taking into consideration the rape that the accused allegedly committed that involves an elderly person aged 70, her relatives and children are furious about what happened to her. We, therefore, fear that if the court is minded to grant the accused person bail, the complainant’s relatives and children may injure him although we have cautioned them about the consequences of taking the law into their own hands”. Magistrate Thabang Chokwe asked Ndlovu if he had any questions relating to what Modipe had told the court, to which Ndlovu responded that he had no questions to ask.
Further asked by Chokwe if he understood the consequences of not cross-examining the IO, Ndlovu said he understood well. Chokwe then explained to Ndlovu that he was not forced to cross-examine the IO, but by not asking the IO questions it would mean that everything they said in court is taken to be the truth. To this, Ndlovu also answered in the affirmative to indicate that he will not contest what the IO had said. Chokwe then said that with Ndlovu having declined the chance to voluntarily ask the IO questions, he shall be remanded in custody until December 6.