Thabong, Welkom – Free State police have welcomed the sentence handed down by the Welkom Regional Court against Mzinkwe Leonard Binda (48), who was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday, 2 June.

Binda’s conviction follows forensic analysis and investigative work that brought closure to a series of crimes spanning more than a decade across Thabong, Welkom and Bloemfontein.

The sentencing stems from an incident that occurred on 13 October 2006 at approximately 20:30. A victim (41) was inside her locked home when Binda unlawfully gained entry. Armed with a knife, he kidnapped the victim and forced her into an abandoned container across the street, where he raped her.

He then forced her back into her residence, demanded money and raped her an additional two times inside her bedroom before fleeing.

Following the incident, cases of burglary, kidnapping and rape were registered. Because the suspect was unknown at the time, SAPS investigators collected DNA evidence from the scene for processing.

Binda was arrested in 2023 on an unrelated charge of house robbery. Following his arrest, forensic DNA analysis linked him to unresolved cases in the Thabong area:

• 2010: Assault GBH, house robbery and rape (withdrawn as the victim is currently untraceable)
• 2018: Business robbery
• 2019: House robbery and three counts of rape (withdrawn as both victims have since passed away)

On 25 March 2023, he was officially charged by sergeant Pontsho Mokoena of the Thabong Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit.

On 2 June 2026, the Welkom Regional Court found Binda guilty on the 2006 charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment for rape, five years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and three years’ imprisonment for burglary.

He remains on trial in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court for a 2019 Welkom house robbery case, and a business robbery case in Bloemfontein remains pending against him.

Free State Provincial Commissioner lieutenant general Thabang Lesia said the sentence demonstrates that justice prevails. “We commend the investigative work of sergeant Pontsho Mokoena from the Thabong FCS Unit, who worked alongside state prosecutor Mathoka to build the case,” he said.

ALSO READ: Father sentenced to life imprisonment for rape of biological daughter