News24 | Man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping and assaulting his mother

A man who raped and assaulted his mother was sentenced to life imprisonment.

• A KwaZulu-Natal man was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping and assaulting his mother.
• The victim fled to a neighbouring homestead after the attack.
• The accused was arrested two weeks later.

A man who raped and assaulted his mother was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Ngwelezane Regional Court.

The 32-year-old committed the crime in the Nseleni area, near Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, in December 2024.

According to evidence presented in court, the mother and the accused lived on the same homestead, occupying separate rondavels, when the man knocked on his mother’s door.

The mother, who was sleeping with a minor child, opened the door.

“Upon opening it, the accused began shouting at her, accusing her of speaking about him to other people,” said Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the spokesperson for the NPA in KwaZulu-Natal.

“Despite her denial, he made threatening remarks and proceeded to undress before physically assaulting her by slapping and punching her.”

Ramkisson-Kara stated that the man then forced his mother onto the bed and raped her in the presence of the minor child.

In an attempt to escape, the mother asked for permission to go outside to drink water.

“When the accused allowed her to do so, the child followed her. The complainant then took the child and fled to a neighbouring homestead, where they spent the night,” said Ramkisson-Kara.

“Due to shock and embarrassment, she initially only reported the assault to her neighbours.”

The following morning, the woman disclosed the full extent of the incident to a relative, who took her to the police station to open a case.

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She was referred to the Ngwelezane Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) for medico-legal assistance.

Ramkisson-Kara said the accused fled the scene, but was arrested two weeks later after being apprehended by his cousins and handed over to the police.

In her statement, the mother described feeling horrified and deeply violated, stating that she never imagined her own child would commit such an act against her.

The court ordered that the sentences of life imprisonment and 10 years’ imprisonment run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment.

The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

“The NPA’s fight against the scourge of sexual violence has been aided by the expansion of the TCC footprint across the country, which has grown from 55 TCCs in 2020/2021 to 66 TCCs at present,” said Ramkisson-Kara.

“These centres provide comprehensive services and critical support to victims of sexual violence.”