Serial rapist Njabulo Ngwenya sentenced to five life terms and 300 years in prison

Sboniseni Njabulo Ngwenya. 24, has sentenced to five life terms for rape and a cumulative 300 years, for other serious offences

Sbongiseni Njabulo Ngwenya was found guilty on 39 counts, of which 16 were rape, nine armed robbery, 13 housebreaking and one attempted murder

Prosecutors said Ngwenya and an accomplice terrorized unsuspecting women in Klipgat and Winterveld, between 2016 and 2018

Evidence proved that Ngwenya broke into homes at night, armed, then robbed and raped victims

Ngwenya was linked by DNA on the rape cases

Three of his rape victims were minors aged 12, 14 and 16

His accomplice Bongani Masuku is currently serving a life sentence for the same offences, and various other offences that he committed alone. 6

A 24-year-old man in South Africa will likely die behind bars after the North West High Court, sitting at the Ga-Rankuwa Regional Court, Johannesburg sentenced hi to five life terms for rape and a cumulative 300 years, for other serious offences – that include housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Sbongiseni Njabulo Ngwenya, [photo left], was found guilty on 39 charges, of which 16 were for rape, nine for armed robbery, 13 for housebreaking, and one for attempted murder.
The court declared him unfit to possess a firearm, ordered he be register as a sex offender. The court declared him unfit to work with minors.
Ngwenya was arrested in September 2018, after police received reports of a series of violent home invasion robberies.
All the crimes were committed in the victims’ homes over a two year span. Sometimes he had an accomplice, but mostly he worked alone.
Prosecutors submitted evidence in court that Ngwenya was armed during the night time home invasions. He would threaten homeowners with a firearm and rob them of valuables including TV sets, cellphones, and money.
He would then rape victims before fleeing the scene.
Three of his rape victims were minors, aged 12, 14 and 16, when they were violated.
The charge of attempted murder stems from when he accosted two girls as they entered their home. When their brother appeared from another room, Ngwenya shot him in the leg and herded the girls to a nearby bush and raped them.
He was positively linked to his rape offences by DNA samples.
Police reports further revealed that in some instances, Ngwenya was accompanied by Bongani Masuku, as he and his accomplice terrorized unsuspecting women in Klipgat and Winterveld, between 2016 and 2018.
Masuku is currently serving a life sentence for the same offences, and various other offences that he committed alone.
He turned state witness and testified about how he and Ngwenya went about committing the criminal acts.
Ngwenya initially denied knowing Masuku, but later conceded that Masuku was the mastermind behind all these offences, as he was only 18 years of age when these crimes were committed.

However, the state proved, through evidence presented, that Ngwenya committed some of the offences on his own, unaccompanied by his accomplice.
In seeking of aggravated of sentencing, the prosecutor McDonald Ndimande urged the court not to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence on each of the offences, as the victims were violated in their homes, which they consider to be a place of safety. South Africa is grappling with the scourge of gender-based violence, which needs to be addressed by the criminal justice system, Ndimande told the court.
Presiding judge Rose Nonyana, concurred with the state and she pointed out the public outcry on the prevalence of rape, adding that their hopes rest on the courts dealing with such cases, including gender-based violence.