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Nine life terms for KZN rapist

HAPPY: KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni
HAPPY: KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni

His victims ranged from a 7-year-old child to a pensioner aged 73

KWAZULU-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni has praised the Ladysmith High Court for handing down a particularly stiff prison sentences to Wembezi serial rapist Delani Ngqulunga.

Ngqulunga, 29, was on Wednesday afternoon sentenced to nine life terms and a further 65 years in prison for a series of rapes, assaults, robberies and kidnappings.

Ngqulunga, whose reign of terror began in 2005 and continued until his arrest last year, was convicted of 17 of the 20 charges he faced.

His victims ranged from a seven-year-old child to a pensioner aged 73.

Ngqulunga was convicted on two counts of assault and sentenced to two years on each, 10 counts of rape for which he received nine life terms and a 10-year term of imprisonment, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances for which he received 15 years on each count, three counts of kidnapping and sentenced to eight years imprisonment for each of the two counts and five years for the third.

"This is a victory not only for the South African Police Service, but for all vulnerable women and children in the country," said Ngobeni.

"The court could not have passed a more fitting sentence and this will certainly send out a strong message to other criminals and would-be criminals.

"We welcome the sentence and are pleased that another monster who preyed on defenceless women and children has been removed from society."

Ngqulunga joins a growing list of serial rapists serving long jail terms, such as Cedric Maake, known as the "Wemmer Pan serial rapist", who murdered 27 people; Jimmy Maketta, who was known as the "Jesus Killer", convicted on 16 counts of murder and 19 counts of rape; Johannes Mashiane, also known as "The Beast of Atteridgeville", jailed on 13 counts of murder and 12 of sodomy.

Jack Mogale, known as the "West-End serial killer" who was convicted of raping and murdering 16 women; David Randitsheni, known as the "Modimolle serial killer", raped and murdered 10 children; paedophile Gert van Rooyen, abducted and murdered at least six girls from across South Africa.

Norman Afzal Simons, known as the "Station strangler", raped, sodomised and murdered 22 children on the Cape Flats; Moses Sithole, known as the "ABC killer" or the "South African strangler", raped and killed at least 38 young women in Atteridgeville, Boksburg and Cleveland; Thozamile Taki, the "Sugar cane serial killer", robbed and killed at least 10 women in KwaZulu-Natal and three in the Eastern Cape and dumped their bodies in sugar cane and tea plantations.

Sipho Thwala, the "Phoenix strangler", raped and murdered 19 women in the sugar cane fields of KwaZulu-Natal and Stewart Wilken, the "Boetie Boer", raped, sodomised and murdered at least seven people.

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