The Mthatha Regional Court sentenced Inganathi Ntwanambi (23) to life imprisonment for raping and robbing a woman (48) who was his neighbour at Mahibe locality in Mthatha, last week.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, said in addition to two charges of rape and one of robbery, the court convicted him of housebreaking with intent to commit a crime but took all the charges as one sentence.
“The victim who had received her monthly pension grant on May 6, 2023, was woken up by a knock on her door. The person knocking on the door introduced himself as her son, but she refused to open it as she could tell that the voice was not her son. However, the assailant kicked the door down, and upon entering he demanded R2000,” said Tyali.
He added that she told him that she had already paid her debts and offered R500, the suspect counted the money and told her that because it was not enough, she had to pay the remainder with sex.
He said that the man then proceeded to rape her before fleeing.
“Following her ordeal, the woman went to report to her neighbours and was able to identify her attacker as one of the young men from her neighborhood but did not know his name. When she described his attire, another neighbour suggested that it was Ntwanambi and they went to look for him, she immediately recognized him and he started to apologise, claiming that he did not know what had gotten to him when he committed the crime.”
Tyali said that he was arrested, and the woman was taken to Sinawe Thuthuzela Care Center (TCC) for psychosocial and medical treatment.
During trial he pleaded not guilty even though he had admitted to having committed the crimes upon his arrest.
This necessitated that Regional Court control Prosecutor Fumanekile Kandile lead the evidence of the victim that was assisted by the court preparation officer (CPO), Ziyanda Fambaza. Magistrate Shylock Ndengezi found Ntwanambi to be an untruthful witness with “total disdain of law and the court” and agreed that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances for deviating from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, commended the investigating officer, the TCC staff, CPO and the prosecutor for the meticulous collection and presentation of evidence, noting that the sentence reaffirms the NPA’s commitment to the prosecution of the most vulnerable members of the society.
