SAPS honours KZN unit for bringing justice to 13 rape victims
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This Women's Month, the South African Police Service (SAPS) is shining a spotlight on the hard work and commitment of the KwaZulu-Natal Serial and Electronic Crimes Unit (SECI) in bringing a serial rapist to justice, providing closure for a community terrorised for over a decade.
The SECI is being honoured for its success in securing justice for 13 women and children who were victims of rape by the same perpetrator over more than 10 years.
The SAPS said the specialised unit brought much-needed relief to the women of KwaMbonambi and Empangeni in the King Cetshwayo District, who were living in fear of a serial rapist who was on the loose.
Between July 2010 and April 2021, a total of 13 women were raped similarly. Twelve of these incidents occurred within the KwaMbonambi policing precinct, with one additional case reported in Empangeni.
Analysis of the modus operandi and victim descriptions established the presence of a serial rapist targeting young women.
Detectives from the unit promptly took over the case, immediately beginning to gather evidence.
Police said 12 of the victims, with the youngest being a 15-year-old girl, were accosted by the suspect either on their way to school or returning from school.
'The suspect would drag the victims to the bushes, next to the river, or in the sugarcane fields where he raped them at knifepoint before robbing them of their belongings.'
The SAPS reported that the suspect once broke into a house where an elderly woman was sleeping with her two grandchildren.
'At knifepoint, the suspect raped the two young women and robbed the grandmother of her money and other belongings.'
From 2010, SECI investigators faced the monumental task of collating evidence.
However, the SAPS said the unit's determination to expose the serial rapist and secure justice for the victims drove them to meticulously re-examine every single docket.
'Under the stewardship of Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell Nsele, the detectives cracked the cases and overwhelming forensic evidence positively linked 42-year-old Bhekithemba Fanozi Nxumalo to all 13 cases of rape.'
The court sentenced Nxumalo to 12 terms of life imprisonment for rape, plus an additional 75 years in jail for cases of robbery on June 10, 2024.
The SAPS further highlighted the unit's recent successes.
Between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the provincial SECI unit secured convictions leading to 18 life imprisonment sentences and an additional 425 years in jail.
These sentences were for individuals convicted of serial rape, possession of child pornography, kidnapping, attempted murder, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), and robbery.
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