Gang rapist and house robber Thandanani Tharib Msomi, 26, has been jailed for life by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
|||Pietermaritzburg - Gang rapist and house robber Thandanani Tharib Msomi, 26, was jailed for life on Monday by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
His two accomplices, aged 19 and 31, were still on trial and were expected to appear in court again on October 23, said Warrant Officer Solomon Mbele.
He said they gang-raped a 33-year-old female and stole a home theatre system after breaking into her home in Emalangeni Reserve, near Mpumalanga township, outside Durban, on October 1, 2011.
Mbele said Msomi was sentenced to life for the rape and to 15 years' imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to steal and theft.
“The ruthless and barbaric attack of women by criminals of Thandanani's calibre will not be tolerated in our society and we welcome (the) maximum sentence meted out by the court,” said KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Mmamonnye Ngobeni.
“Our endeavours to effectively investigate reported crimes instil hope to victims of crime and send our clear resolute commitment to criminals that we will trace, arrest and successfully prosecute them,” he said.
Sapa