Pertunia Ratsatsi

Pertunia Ratsatsi

Judge Ronnie Boshielo of the Pretoria supreme court yesterday sentenced Simon Malatji, the dreaded serial rapist known as the Queue Marshall, to life imprisonment and 307 years.

Malatji also faced charges of robbery and indecent assault.

For three years Malatji preyed on unsuspecting young women he waylaid at a taxi rank used mostly by university students in Van der Walt Street, Pretoria.

The 31-year-old unemployed resident of Soshanguve used cunning to lure his victims to his "lair", usually dense bushes at Mabopane railway station and in Soshanguve.

He convinced most of his victims that he was a taxi driver or a queue marshall and then persuaded them to follow him. The court heard he was always polite and helpful to his victims.

The serial predator's reign of terror began in 2001 and lasted until he was caught in 2004.

One victim testified how the Queue Marshall approached her and a friend when they arrived at the Van der Walt Street rank. He told them that the rank's drivers were on strike and that pamphlets had been distributed advising people to use alternative transport.

Malatji offered to accompany them if they could contribute to his taxi fare, which they did.

The three boarded a taxi, which he asked to stop at their destination and the group got off. He told them they would have to walk through the bush to reach GaRankuwa.