Dumisane Tokwe (24) of Joza was convicted on charges of rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison at the Grahamstown Regional Court on Thursday.
Dumisane Tokwe (24) of Joza was convicted on charges of rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison at the Grahamstown Regional Court on Thursday.
At 2am on the morning on 14 September 2007, Sphiwe Duda (23) was on her way to visit her boyfriend in Joza when she met the accused walking with two other men. As soon as they had walked away, Tokwe grabbed her and dragged her to a nearby school where he raped her. He also robbed her of her cellphone and assaulted her. He then left and as Duda was leaving she saw a police van on patrol nearby. She stopped them and related her ordeal to the police who arrested Tokwe immediately.
The police officer said that when they stopped, Duda and Tokwe had been involved in a scuffle. After she told them of the alleged rape, they then searched the suspect and found the complainant’s cellphone in his sock. The two were taken to the police station, where a case of rape and assault was opened and Duda was taken to hospital for examination.
During his defence, Tokwe denied ever meeting the complainant on the morning of the alleged rape. He said that he was walking to the shebeen where he met three men and a woman. He said the men mugged him and stabbed him and he ran away to ask for help. When he returned to the place where he was robbed, he met the police who arrested him.
The Regional Magistrate, Samson Dunywa, outright rejected this testimony. “The accused version is highly improbable. He was caught red-handed still walking with the complainant,” he said.
Dunywa found the accused guilty on both charges and said: “Rape is like an epidemic in our society, it traumatises the victim, degrades women in general, tells us that we do not have respect for them and it is against our Constitution,” he said.
In passing down the sentence, he took into account that the accused has a previous conviction and sentenced him to 10 years. He said he hoped the sentence will deter men from raping women.
“I am happy that justice has taken its course at last,” said the complainant after the judgement was passed.
