Rapist sentenced to life behind bars
The Pietermaritzburg Regional Court convicted and sentenced a 30-year-old man to life imprisonment after he broke into a woman’s house twice in one night and at the second attempt raped her.
According to provincial police, Nkululeko Nxumalo received a life sentence for the rape and three years imprisonment for housebreaking.
Police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said: “On 17 April 2011 at about 21:30, Nxumalo broke into a victim’s house and attempted to rape her. The victim managed to flee from him.
“On the same night, at about 00h30, the victim heard a knock on the window and it was the same person that was in her room earlier that night. He forcefully entered the house through the window and raped her at knifepoint.
“The victim reported the matter to her employer and a case of rape was opened at Nottingham Road Police Station. The docket was transferred to Howick Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for further investigation. Nxumalo was arrested and charged for rape and housebreaking. He appeared in court several times until he was convicted and sentenced.”
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni welcomed the sentence, saying: “People of Nxumalo’s calibre belong to jail not in our community. We highly praise the detective who intensively investigated this case and managed to secure this sentence.”