Three life terms for man who raped three 15-year-old pupils

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On Thursday the Inkanyezi Regional Court sentenced Sibongiseni Fano Gwala (30) to three life terms for the rape of three pupils in 2018.

On 15 September 2018 in Mbongolwane, three girls aged 15 were returning home from school when they were apprehended by the accused. He forced them into a sugarcane plantation where they were threatened with a firearm and a knife. They were held in the sugarcane fields by the accused who raped them. The victims managed to flee and report the incident to their parents. Charges of rape were opened at Mbongolwane SAPS. The docket was transferred to Eshowe Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit who took over the investigation.

In January 2019, the accused was arrested and tried in court. He made several court appearances until his sentence on Thursday. He was declared unfit to possess a firearm and his name was also placed on the Sexual Offenders Register.

Gwala was also sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for a separate case of business robbery.