The Mthatha High Court has handed a 15 year prison sentence to a local priest, Bandile Mgoduka, for rape.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, on March 14, last year, the 61-year-old accused invited his then-girlfriend and her friend to his mission house at the Qokolweni area in Mthatha and offered them food and liquor.
“In the middle of their binging, he picked up a fight with the girlfriend and chased her away. He then proceeded to rape the friend,” said Tyali.
He added that the victim then reported the incident two days after at the Ngangelizwe Police Station.
“She testified that she did not report the following day because her body was aching, and she could not drive herself to the police station. The J88 submitted in court also corroborated the extent of injuries she sustained during the incident.”
Tyali further added that in his defense, Mgoduka denied ever raping the victim but claimed she repelled him. He claimed she sustained the injuries as she fell all over the place because she was drunk.
Prosecutor Fanelekile Kandile pleaded with the court to hand down the minimum sentence of life imprisonment, however, the court found that circumstances justified a deviation.
“Magistrate Shylock Ndengezi told the packed court that he considered the advanced age of both the perpetrator, who is a first offender and the victim as a mitigating factor. He accepted the defense’s argument that liquor had played a role in the commission of the offense.”
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Barry Madolo noted the case should deter other men who abuse their societal positions to perpetrate Gender-Based Violence (GBV). He said the DPP commended the prosecutor and the investigating officer for securing the conviction under trying circumstances, where the victim’s state of sobriety was called to question.
