Man sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of an elderly woman

NORTHERN CAPE – The Provincial Head of the FCS units, Brigadier Nicky Mills, praised and applauded Sergeant Juanita Lakey for her meticulous investigative work which yielded positive outcomes by ensuring that a rapist was sent to jail for life by the Northern Cape High Court.

Sizwe Ntwana(36) was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley on Thursday,14 April 2022. Sizwe has been found guilty on two counts, rape and housebreaking.

He was sentenced as follows;

Count 1 Rape: Life imprisonment,

Count 2 Housebreaking: Six months imprisonment.

According to the evidence which was led in court, it emerged that on 03 June 2020 at approximately 22:30, the victim was asleep in her house in Ritchie, near Modderriver when Sizwe forcefully gained entry through a window and raped her.

He spent the entire night holding the victim hostage and raped her repeatedly. The victim broke free subsequent to pleading with the accused, to allow her to use the bathroom.

She managed to escape and ran to the neighbours to seek help.

The suspect fled the scene on foot when he realized that the victim’s neighbours were coming after him. The investigating officer followed all the leads of his whereabouts and he was arrested in Danielskuil.

He was kept in police custody until the finalisation of the trial. The DNA results positively linked Sizwe to the rape and housebreaking.

Brigadier Nicky Mills commended the National Prosecuting Authority and Department of Justice for ensuring that Sizwe was removed from society and incarcerated for life.

Sizwe has been declared unfit to possess a firearm and his name will be recorded in the National Register of Sex Offenders.

Source: South African Police Service