Alleged Limpopo serial rapist in court

An alleged serial rapist and killer has been arrested in Mahwelereng, Limpopo police said on Sunday.

He was taken into custody on Wednesday after he was positively linked to the rapes of 12 women using DNA, police spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

The 42-year-old was linked to the rapes and murders of Maria Kandane, 25, Precious Mamontlane, 13, and Raynette Legotso, 21, between 2002 and 2004. They were strangled. His alleged crime spree lasted from 2002 to 2012.

He would apparently drag women from villages near Mahwelereng to the nearby bushes and rape them.

Provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Simon Mpembe commended the police for the arrest.

"The team must be applauded for their untiring efforts and perseverance to bring this monster to book for his barbaric attacks on innocent women", he said.

The man would appear in the Mokopane Magistrate's Court on Monday.

-Sapa