The Mtunzini High Court in the North of KwaZulu Natal (KZN) sentenced 36-year-old Muzikhona Khehla Khumbulani Mthethwa, to five terms of life imprisonment plus 155 years in jail on Friday.
This comes after the court found him guilty on seven counts of rape, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of robbery as well as house breaking and assault.
Mthethwa, who was terrorising the areas of Richards Bay, KwaMbonambi and Empangeni, started his raping spree in March 2017, when he raped a woman and strangled her with the intention to kill her at KwaMbonambi.
During his cold-blooded raping spree, Mthethwa also came across three women in Richards Bay.
He fired a shot at one woman and raped the other whilst forcing the other victims to witness the act.
With police realizing that there was a serial rapist on the loose, a team of dedicated detectives from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit connected the dots and Mthethwa was stopped on his tracks in 2021.
His reign of terror ended when he was arrested and charged on 21 counts, inclusive of rape, attempted murder, business robbery, house breaking and assault.
His youngest rape victim was a 13-year-old girl whom he raped after breaking into the house she was sleeping in.
Mthethwa’s name will be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.