| 2024/08/21 |
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Media Statement
DURBAN – Astute investigations by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit detective have proven three cases of rape beyond any reasonable doubt and convinced the Nquthu Regional Court to hand down five terms of life imprisonment sentence plus an additional 30 years behind bars to 37-year-old Mthokozisi Cyril Mdlalose, a self-proclaimed prophet-cum-traditional healer. Mdlalose knew of his fate on Wednesday, 21 August 2024. Mdlalose’s raping spree started in October 2020 when he masqueraded as a prophet and gave an 18-year-old girl a false prophesy that she was bewitched and that her days on earth were numbered. He then instructed the victim to come to his eMadresini home so that he could reverse the curse. The victim told her mother who believed the ‘prophet’ and allowed her to go and see him. The fake prophet told the girl to lie on her back and applied some ointment on her body before raping her. After the ordeal he instructed the victim not to tell anyone and eleven days later, he raped her again. With him thinking that he got away with the first rape, Mdlalose again used his prophecy modus operandi to lure another victim, a 15-year-old girl to his house where he instructed her to undress herself before raping her several times in February 2022. In August of the same year, Mdlalose pretended to be a traditional healer and an unsuspecting mother took her 18-year-old daughter to him for cleansing. Mdlalose took the victim to the river where he instructed her to bath. By the time she finished bathing he had already put a towel on the floor where he ordered her to sit and he applied his muti on her head and ears. The victim became unconscious and when she woke up, Mdlalose was nowhere to be found and she then realised that she was raped. The investigating officer was able to connect the dots and positively linked Mdlalose to the rape of the three young women. The Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi praised quality investigative work by the Investigating Officer and applauded the court for handing down the ultimate sentence to the cold-hearted rapist. “The sentence comes in a month in which the country is honouring and paying attention to all the efforts and sacrifices made by women in our society. Sentences such as this encourages our investigators to put more effort and leave no stone unturned, knowing that the court will remove those who abuse women from society for good”, Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi said. Mdlalose was also declared unfit to possess a firearm and his name will be engraved on the National Register for Sex Offenders. Ends
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