OR Tambo District
Police Commissioner, Major General Pumzile Cetyana has welcomed the conviction
and subsequent two life sentences imposed on Zubenathi Ngwande (23) of Nyibeni
locality in Bityi outside Mthatha.
Ngwande was
sentenced by the Mthatha Regional Court on March 7.
According to
police spokesperson Captain Welile Matyolo, the rape incidents occurred on April
13, 2019, when Ngwande and his unknown accomplice raped two victims, both aged
16, in an open field, having forcefully taken victims from their homes in
Gwegwe locality at about 21:00.
“They made
the first victim’s brother to knock where she was sleeping, and they got hold
of her and then used her to lure the second victim. As the second victim didn’t
open the door, it was shot at and kicked open.”
“The second
victim was dragged in front of her mother to an open field where both victims
were raped,” said Matyolo.
Ngwande’s oral
samples linked him to the rapes and was sentenced to two life sentences for
raping the two female victims.
“Professionalism
and dedication by the investigating officer were the key elements that brought about
the conviction and the officer’s good work is highly commended,” concluded
Major General Pumzile Cetyana.
