GQEBERHA – Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Nomthetheleli Mene has welcomed the sentencing of two accused in separate cases, one of rape and sexual grooming of an 11-year-old girl and the other, murder of a pregnant teenager. Both these crimes were committed in Booysens Park and Kamesh respectively.

In September 2020, the mother of an 11-year-old girl from Qunu in Booysens Park opened a case of rape against her boyfriend for allegedly raping her daughter. The child was subjected to the abuse from 2018 and when she reported the matter to a school councillor, the case was opened. The rapes took place whilst the child’s mother was at work. In June 2021, the accused, Mpumelelo Mpikoli (56 years old at the time) was arrested.

In April 2022, he was found guilty and on 20 July 2022 he was sentenced on two counts of rape and 2 counts of sexual grooming. On each of the rape cases he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and on the sexual grooming cases he was sentenced to 5 years on each case. The one rape and the two sexual grooming cases will run concurrent with the first count of rape. Effectively he will serve 20 years in prison.

In October 2021, the body of pregnant Cynthia Williams, aged 16 years at the time, was found buried in the backyard of her boyfriend’s house in Bauhinia Crescent in Thomas Gamble in Kamesh. Ms Williams was also stabbed several times by her boyfriend, Kyle Barnes (19). He remained in custody until the finalisation of his case.

On 21 July 2022, he was sentenced in the Gqeberha High court to 15 years imprisonment for murder and 2 years for defeating the ends of justice. The defeating the ends of justice will run concurrent with the murder sentence. He will serve an effective 15 years in prison.

Lt Gen Mene has iterated that no mercy should be spared to perpetrators who commit crimes against women and children and, as such they must be arrested and prosecuted so that these heartless criminals are removed from society where they can no longer be a threat to women and children. “Justice must be served on these cold hearted, callous and merciless human beings who have absolutely no respect for women and children.  The brutality of gender-based violence is extremely concerning and alarming, therefore the culprits must be dealt with decisively,” added Lt Gen Mene.

Source: South African Police Service