Latest news with #ThabamoopoMagistrate'sCourt
IOL News
27-04-2025
- IOL News
34-year-old man arrested for allegedly raping girl, 5, in Limpopo
Limpopo police have arrested a 34-year-old scholar transporter was arrested in Mafefe Village in the Malipsdrift for allegedly raping a 5-year-old girl inside the scholar transport. A 34-year-old scholar transporter was arrested in Mafefe Village in the Malipsdrift policing precinct outside Lebowakgomo, Capricorn District for allegedly raping a 5-year-old girl inside the scholar transport. The man was arrested on Thursday police said. According to the Limpopo police, the incident allegedly occurred between January and March 2025 in Mafefe Village. Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the suspect is accused of raping the child after picking her up from school. 'He reportedly dropped off other children as usual, and instead of taking the victim straight home, he is accused of raping her inside the vehicle,' Ledwaba said. He said the suspect allegedly threatened the child not to report the incident, but she finally disclosed it to her grandmother during the Easter weekend. Ledwaba said a case of rape was opened which was transferred to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit for further investigation. 'The suspect was subsequently arrested on Thursday,' he added. Meanwhile, the acting provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo Major General Samuel Manala has condemned the incident, adding that it is shocking how innocent children continue to be tormented by heartless criminals. "We urge parents and guardians to keep supporting their children when they report abuse so that the perpetrators can be arrested and held accountable for their horrendous actions." Manala said. Ledwaba added that the suspect is expected to appear before the Thabamoopo Magistrate's Court soon to face a charge of rape. On Wednesday, IOL News reported that a 39-year-old serial rapist, Gilbert Sibusiso Fankomo has been handed four life sentences for the brutal rape of multiple teenagers. Fankomo received the sentences from the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela on Thursday, April 24, 2025. Police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli stated that the sentence follows Fankomo's conviction on multiple counts of rape involving vulnerable teenage victims spanning from April 2009 to March 2022. The court heard distressing facts of Fankomo's predatory activity, which targeted young girls by abusing their innocence and trust. It was said that on April 29, 2009, Fankomo enticed a nine-year-old girl in Hazyview, forcing her into the bushes and raping her as she walked to her uncle's home. On October 27, 2021, the accused tricked an eight-year-old child in Masoyi by pretending that her mother had instructed him to accompany her (victim) to buy a chicken, only to bring the victim into a secluded spot and rape her. In November 2021, Fankomo approached a nine-year-old girl in a Calcutta market, pretending to require money from his children, attacked her in a remote location, and subsequently raped her. "In March 2022, he raped an 11-year-old girl in Calcutta, forcing her and her younger siblings into an unfinished house, where he held them hostage while committing these atrocities against the minor girl. "All cases were opened and diligently probed by the specialized members from Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit. These astute members worked tirelessly to bring Fankomo to justice. His past criminal behaviour includes a previous rapeconviction in June 2010, for which he received 18 years' sentence but was released on parole in April 2019," Mdhluli said. [email protected] IOL News
The Citizen
25-04-2025
- The Citizen
Girl (5) raped: Limpopo scholar transport driver arrested
A 35-year-old man will appear in the Thabamoopo Magistrate's Court in Limpopo soon, in connection with the rape of a five-year-old girl. Polokwane Review reports that Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, says the man was arrested yesterday afternoon in Mafefe Village in the Malipsdrift policing precinct outside Lebowakgomo. He says that between January and March, the suspect allegedly raped the child after picking her up from school. Ledwaba says the suspect would drop off other children and instead of taking the victim home, would rape her in the vehicle. 'The suspect threatened the child not to report the incident, but she disclosed to her grandmother over the Easter weekend,' he says. A case of rape was opened and transferred to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for investigation, before the suspect was arrested. Acting provincial police commissioner Major General Samuel Manala says innocent children continue to be tormented by heartless criminals. 'We urge parents and guardians to keep supporting their children when they report abuse so that the perpetrators can be arrested and held accountable for their horrendous actions.' Meanwhile, Education MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya has cautioned parents to conduct background checks on people they hire to transport their children to school. 'It is a serious concern that people who are trusted to transport learners to school prey on them to advance their sexual desires. Parents must ensure that private scholar transporters are properly vetted and that they have no previous criminal records, especially of a sexual nature,' she says. The MEC is confident that justice will prevail and the perpetrator will be convicted. The department's media liaison officer, Matome Taueatsoala, says the department dispatched a social worker to support the learner. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
News24
25-04-2025
- News24
Scholar transport driver arrested for rape of 5-year-old girl
A Limpopo scholar transport driver has been arrested for rape. He allegedly raped a five-year-old girl after fetching her from school. The child disclosed the incident to her grandmother over the Easter weekend. A Limpopo man has been arrested for allegedly raping a 5-year-old scholar who was part of a group he transported home from school. According to police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the 35-year-old man was arrested on Thursday afternoon in Mafefe in the Malipsdrift policing precinct. "The incident allegedly occurred between January and March 2025 in Mafefe village. The suspect allegedly raped the child after picking her up from school. He reportedly dropped off other children as usual, and instead of taking the victim straight home, he allegedly raped her inside the vehicle," Ledwaba said. He added the man had allegedly threatened the child when he warned her not to report the incident, but she disclosed it to her grandmother over the Easter weekend. "A case of rape was opened, which was transferred to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit for further investigation. The suspect was subsequently arrested on Thursday," Ledwaba said. Acting provincial police commissioner Major General Samuel Manala described the incident as "shocking" and said "innocent children continue to be tormented by heartless criminals". "We urge parents and guardians to keep supporting their children when they report abuse so that the perpetrators can be arrested and held accountable for their horrendous actions," he said. The man is expected to appear in the Thabamoopo Magistrate's Court soon. The arrest comes only weeks after the rape of a 7-year-old Matatiele pupil was reported in the Eastern Cape. The perpetrator is yet to be identified five months after the rape, despite the police's indication that people of interest were identified. News24 previously reported that police arrested 222 people for rape in just one week at the start of last month. Of those, seven were accused of raping minors. Police said the seven were aged 24 to 79.
