A serial rapist appeared in the Welkom Magistrate's Court today after his DNA linked him to 12 cases. Richard Bongani Mazibuko (42), who also goes by the surname Dlangezwa, was arrested for a house robbery that took place in 2019. His DNA results came back and after intensive investigation, his DNA linked him to 12 cases. These cases were reported in Welkom, Thabong, Bultfontein, Bothaville, Odendaalsrus and Virginia. These cases date as far back as January 2011, when he broke into a house, raped the 12-year-old girl he found in the house and took valuable items from the house in Welkom. His criminal behaviour advanced and he got some accomplices who would go with him to houses, rob the occupants and then, in some incidents, Mazibuko would rape the woman. The case was transferred to the Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) Unit in the Free State to tie all the strings together in collaboration with the NPA. Mazibuko appeared briefly in court today and the case was postponed to 22 August 2024 for further investigation.
Source : South African Police Service
