Durban - The astute observations of a KwaZulu-Natal primary school teacher, led to the arrest and conviction of the man who raped a 12-year-old girl.
The Madadeni Regional Court in Newcastle sentenced Mandlenkosi Ace Jiyane to life imprisonment on May 5, 2023.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said Jiyane was convicted for the rape of a 12-year-old girl at Section 3 in Madadeni on October 19, 2020.
“The girl’s teacher had noticed that something was wrong with her and, with the involvement of her parents, the girl spoke of her rape ordeal at the hands of Jiyane, 46, who was duly arrested,” he said.
Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has hailed the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) investigating officers for their meticulous investigations which secured the sentence for the gruesome violation of the child.
“Rapists have no space in our society and we shall put out all stops to ensure that we prevent rapes from happening. However, challenging as it is to police rape, in an unfortunate incident of it occurring, our dedicated investigators will dig deep to ensure that victims of rape get justice and that perpetrators are removed from society for the longest time,” said Mkhwanazi.
In an unrelated case The Mercury reported that the Madadeni Regional Court in Newcastle sentenced 45-year-old Muziwami Zwane last week to three life terms in prison for raping three women in separate incidents in 2019.
Netshiunda said Zwane would also serve nine more years for kidnapping and an additional six years for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.