Potchefstroom – A 26-year-old man, Bafana Johannes Mans, was handed three life terms by the North West Division of the High Court sitting in Vryburg on Wednesday, for the kidnapping, double rape, and murder of 4-year-old Tshimologo Lotshabeng.
Mans was sentenced as follows:
Count 1: Murder: Life Imprisonment
Count 2: Rape: Life imprisonment
Count 3: Rape: Life imprisonment
Count 4: Kidnapping: Five years imprisonment
The sentence in count two, three and four will run concurrently.
The convict was apprehended at his residential place in Jan Kempdorp in the Northern Cape after the lifeless, naked body of Tshimologo was found in the bushes at Kgomotso village, near Taung on Sunday, May 16.
According to Police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh, Mans knew the 4-year-old girl’s mother.
“According to evidence presented before the court, Mans, was a colleague and one of the people who accompanied Tshimologo’s mother from a tavern to her friend’s house. He waited until the mother fell asleep, then kidnapped the child and took her to the nearby bushes where he raped and killed her,” Myburgh said in a statement.
“He was denied bail upon his first court appearance on Monday, 24 May 2021. As a result, has been in custody since his arrest.
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“In aggravation of sentence, Adv Xolisile Philisane urged the court not to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence as the offence was committed on a helpless minor.
“He further argued that the accused showed no remorse for his actions, as he failed to take a stand and apologise to the family of the deceased,” Myburgh added.
North West Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Makhari-Sekhaolaleo said that the collaboration between the SAPS and the NPA in bringing the perpetrator to book illustrates the advocacy by the criminal justice system in dealing with those who act against the protection of women, children, and the elderly.
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
