The accused, Mooketsi Mabesa (29), was arrested in February in Galeshewe, in the Northern Cape, after he offered the victim (33) and her friend a place to sleep after a night out at a local tavern, says police spokesperson Mashay Gamieldien. Later that evening, Mabesa raped the victim while she was sleeping. The incident was reported and Mabesa was arrested that same day. 

On Tuesday 24 November 2020, Mabesa was found guilty and sentenced in the Galeshewe Regional Court. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

OFM previously reported a similar story of domestic violence where the Galeshewe Regional Court sentenced a 26-year-old man to ten years imprisonment after he was found guilty of attempted murder of his six-year-old son. The father had assaulted the child with a belt and choked him with a chain.

The call for Northern Cape communities to report cases of abuse against women and children comes as the country launched its 2020 16 Days of Activism Campaign held from 25 November to 10 December every year.

OFM News/Blaine Jones