Tefo Tefo
A 33-year-old man from Thuoathe Plateau will spend the next 15 years behind bars after the Maseru Magistrate’s Court found him guilty of raping his 17-year-old niece two months ago.
When convicting the unrepentant rapist, whose name has been withheld in order to protect the identity of the victim, Resident Magistrate Lerato Ntelane said his testimony was hard to believe hence the guilty verdict.
This was after the 17-year-old victim had told the court how her uncle came home on the evening of 4 April and gave her M250 for safekeeping, before pouncing on her later that night.
“It was early evening and soon after giving me the money, which he had said I was supposed to keep for him, he went to have some drinks at a nearby shebeen.
“But at around 8pm, he came back and said I should give him M50 from that amount as he needed it to buy more drinks.
“I was already in bed at the time, and my younger brother was sleeping on the floor and a paraffin lamp was still on.
“But as I was preparing to take out the money, which I had put under the pillow, he threw himself on top of me.
“I fought desperately in an effort to free myself, and we both fell to the floor next to where my younger brother was sleeping.
“But uncle ordered my brother, who had woken up due to the commotion, to extinguish the light, and he complied.
“He then started strangling me, while he raped me at the same time.
“He said I should not worry because the money that he had said I should keep, would now be mine.
“He further said he would continue giving me money if I kept quiet about what he had done,” she said.
However, the convict was adamant he never raped the teenager.
“What happened was I asked her, as my niece, to keep the money for me, and only came back to the house to get more money for the beer I was drinking at a nearby shebeen that night.
“After taking the money, I went back to the shebeen and never raped her as she is alleging,” he said.
But despite his defence, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 15 years in jail without an option of a fine.
Mr Mohau Mahanyele prosecuted the case.
Comments are closed.