SIYABONGA Shabangu (23) and Simphiwe Khumalo (18) from Kwamabuza Farm, who were accused of rape and robbery, have been found guilty and sentenced.
They appeared before Ermelo Regional Court yesterday and were charged with rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Khumalo had pleaded guilty and Shabangu not guilty to the crime that took place at Wesselton extension one in December 2018.
The court heard they attacked a woman who was walking with her boyfriend after they pointed them with a firearm and knife before they ordered the boyfriend to run away, leaving the girlfriend behind.
Khumalo robbed the woman of R2 500 cash and her cellphone.
Shabangu dragged the victim into the bushes near the cemetery and raped her three times, where he used a piece of plastic as a condom before taking her to the nearby stream and ordering her to wash herself and then he fled the scene.
The woman was found by a passerby, who took her to her parental home, where she reported the incident to her mother and was able to identify both accused.
Mpumalanga NPA spokeswoman Monica Nyuswa said Shabangu had pleaded not guilty, but the state linked him to the crime by DNA evidence.
“Shabangu was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and Khumalo was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, suspended for five years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and both were declared unfit to possess a firearm,” Nyuswa said.
