Life in jail for man who raped 83-year-old KZN grandmother
A 22-year-old man from Ntshawini near KwaDukuza, in KwaZulu-Natal, has been sentenced to life and one year in jail for raping and robbing an 83-year-old woman in 2018.
Siyabonga Mkhwanazi was known to the victim and was friends with her grandchildren.
He raped and assaulted the wheelchair-bound 83-year-old after he entered her home in the early hours of the morning.
After throwing her off her bed – he banged her head several times on the cement, raped her and then fled with her R27, which was in her bag.
She was rushed to hospital for the physical and gynaecological injuries sustained.
She also received counselling from the KwaDukuza Thuthuzeka Centre.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority in KwaZulu-Natal, in a victim statement submitted in court, the 83-year-old says no words can describe the trauma she suffered from the incident.
She says she had trusted her assailant and had considered him as her grandchild and he took advantage of her vulnerability.
Mkhwanazi has denied guilt.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, Elaine Zungu, has welcomed the conviction and sentence against him.
Zungu says she hopes the sentence will serve as a lesson that gender-based violence will not be tolerated in the province.
“We urge communities, especially leaders, to assist in addressing GVB related issues through education sessions, dialogues and stakeholder engagements with the relevant government departments,” concludes Zungu.