Nat Molomo
MASERU – A High Court judge has sentenced a 31-year-old Ha Sankatana man to 12 years in prison for raping a woman old enough to be his grandmother.
“He has no respect for the elderly,” Justice ’Maseshophe Hlajoane said as she sent Lebohang Makhethato to prison for raping a 70-year-old woman at knife point.
According to the crown, Makhethato sneaked into his victim’s home on February 26 last year, held the woman at knife point before force marching her to his house where he raped her.
“Rape is not only unlawful, but also shameful and the accused has no respect for the elderly,” she said, adding the sentence should act as a deterrent for people of similar disposition to Makhethato.
The sentence, the judge said, must teach society to respect the elderly especially in this era of HIV/Aids.
About one in every four people is HIV positive in Lesotho, the third highest HIV prevalence in the world.
Crown counsel Advocate Kananelo Khoboko had asked the court to jail Makhethato for 15 years.