Policewoman commended for her work in securing rape conviction

A female warrant officer with the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigations (FCS) unit in Kuruman has been commended for her work by SAPS management in securing the conviction of a rapist.

Warrant Officer Kweitumetse Semetsa’s diligence in pursuing a case against Thato Ncheyagae (23) resulted in him being sentenced to a jail term of 20 years for the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

Meticulous investigation of case

Semetsa was applauded by the head of the FCS unit in Kuruman, Captain Caren Nel, for her “meticulous investigation of the case”.

In addition to 20 years’ direct imprisonment, the Kuruman Regional Court in the Northern Cape declared Ncheyagae unfit to possess a firearm and his name will be recorded in the register of sexual offenders.

According to evidence heard in court, the 13-year-old girl went with some friends to a local tavern on New Year’s Eve 2019.

Victim was dragged from a toilet

At around 4am on New Year’s Day, she went to a toilet accompanied by a friend. While the friend waited outside for her, Ncheyagae grabbed her and dragged her to a dark and isolated area, where he forcefully undressed and raped her.

The assailant then left his victim and returned to the tavern.

The next day the girl reported the incident to her mother, who informed the police and Ncheyagae was arrested.

Double life sentence for rape

In late August, a 46-year-old man from Philippi East in Cape Town was sentenced to life behind bars for the rape of his teenage daughter.

Luyanda Daniels was convicted of raping his 14-year-old daughter in August 2017 at the Marikana informal settlement.

The sentence came in the same week that an Mpumalanga man was handed a double life sentence by the Carolina Regional Court for raping his own daughters. His wife, the mother of the girls, was given a five-year sentence for failing to report