16-05-2025
Detective's work leads to 140-year sentence for Mankweng rapist
POLOKWANE – Matome John Kutumela, the 30-year-old man who ran a reign of terror in the Mankweng policing area, was recently sentenced to a 140-year imprisonment by the Polokwane High Court.
On Friday, he was convicted on 14 charges, including multiple counts of rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, housebreak-in, and compelling persons to witness sexual acts.
The court heard how Kutumela terrorised the communities around Ga-Lekgothoane, either by ambushing victims along the road and threatening them with sharp objects before dragging them to open fields to rape them, or forcing entry into homes where he would commit robbery and rape victims in front of their siblings.
His capture and conviction resulted from detective work done by Det Sgt Sello Moreroa.
A DNA link identified from a seemingly unrelated shoplifting case in Haenertsburg became the forensic breakthrough of his arrest, linking him to the sexual offences.
This sentencing comes just weeks after another landmark conviction secured by the same detective.
In April, a 32-year-old man was sentenced to life for the rape of his 13-year-old stepdaughter. The court heard how the perpetrator instructed the victim to clean a room before following her and dragging her to a toilet where he raped her.
Despite not having DNA evidence in this case, Moreroa also collected comprehensive evidence, witness statements and a crucial Section 170(A) report prepared by a forensic social worker. The perpetrator in this case may not be named as this may compromise the identity of the victim.
Moreroa has been praised for his exceptional work by provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe.
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