HIBAPRESS-RABAT-Media
South Africa has for some time suffered from one of the highest crime rates in the world. According to police data, 9,309 rapes were committed between April and June 2024, an increase of 0.6% compared to the same period last year. Women’s rights advocates have criticized the government for not doing enough to combat violence against women.
In this context in particular, a South African court has just handed down, this week, 42 life prison sentences against a man, aged 40, convicted of 90 rapes, mainly against children, in a case which shook the country at the time of his arrest in 2021.
Nkosinathi Phakathi, imprisoned, and already convicted in 2022, during a hearing broadcast live by the main South African news channels. Some victims “were on their way to school, in school uniform, others were at home preparing to go,” judge Lesego Makolomakwe described during the hearing.
The man appeared with his face hidden by a surgical mask. “Some of the victims let the accused into their homes after he pretended to be a gardener, had to repair pipes or even have municipal documents completed.”
According to local media and during the long reading of his sentences, Nkosinathi Phakathi remained stoic, his head buried in his arms, placed on a pair of crutches. The man’s leg was amputated following a gunshot wound inflicted by police at the time of his arrest.
In addition to the 90 rapes, he was convicted of forcing four other people to rape, three times forcing a child to witness a sexual act, 43 kidnappings, two assaults and four flights.
