The Molopo Regional Court in North West has handed two life sentences to a 30-year-old man for raping two women in 2015.
Kabelo Motlangoane, aged 30, was also sentenced to two years for housebreaking and 12 months for theft.
The National Prosecuting Authority said Motlangoane first broke into the home of a woman in Setlagole while she was away in February 2015.
"His intention was to steal her belongings. He then went back to the same house the following night and found a 39-year-old woman whom he raped before fleeing the scene. Amongst the items that he fled with were a TV set, blanket, CDs, two speakers, a man’s suit, a recorder and house keys," said provincial NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame.
In a separate incident in the same area, Motlangoane broke into the home of a 26-year-old woman, strangled and hit her with an object, before raping her. He was arrested in June 2015.
The court denied him bail and he remained in police custody until his sentencing on Friday.
"In aggravation of a maximum sentence, advocate Nangamso Goloda argued that people cannot live in a society where women are driven to the periphery and relegated to second class citizens as a result of rapists. He further argued that Motlangoane deserved nothing less than life imprisonment," said Mamothame.
The sentences will run concurrently.
