Cape Town – A suspected serial rapist who reportedly terrorised Ekurhuleni women for nine years pleaded guilty to all 148 charges against him, including 93 rape cases at the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
Nkosinathi Emmanuel Phakathi, 32, was initially facing 203 charges, but the state dropped 55 charges, reported TimesLIVE.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, Phakathi now faces 148 charges, including rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and possession of an unlicensed firearm, the report said.
He is also linked to 93 rape cases, said prosecutor Salome Scheepers.
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The report said Phakathi was arrested in March 2021 after he was shot in the leg while allegedly trying to flee from the police.
His leg has since been amputated.
Phakathi’s reign of terror began in 2012 and ended in March, reported the Daily Sun.
The suspected serial rapist allegedly targeted women who lived alone and pretended to be a municipality worker taking meter readings, the report said.
His victims were all females between the ages of 14 and 44. Some were attacked on their way to school.
The report said Phakathi was linked to the rape cases through DNA analysis and his modus operandi.
The matter resumes on Wednesday for Phakathi’s guilty plea statement to be read in court through his lawyer, advocate Letau Kgobane.
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