Serial rapist in South Africa gets 42 life sentences

The Pretoria High Court in South Africa has sentenced a serial r@pist, Nkosinathi Emmanuel Phakathi (40) to 42 life terms and 791 years and 6 months direct imprisonment.

The National Prosecuting Authority in a statement on Friday, October 4, 2024, said the court ordered that he be declared unfit to possess a firearm, and his name be added on the National Register for S£xual Offenders and the National Child Protection Register.

Furthermore, the Judge ordered that the victims be informed when Phakathi is considered for parole, to enable them to make representations.

This is after he was found guilty of 90 counts of rape, 4 counts of compelled r@pe, 3 counts of compelling or causing a child to witness a s£xual act, 43 counts of kidnapping, 2 counts of assault as well as 4 counts of theft on 08 November 2022.

Phakathi committed these offences in and around Ekurhuleni, from June 2012 until March 2021 when he was arrested.

The majority of his victims were school-going children, the youngest being 9 years old, while the oldest was a 44-year-old female.

Initially, Phakathi was facing 203 charges, however the state withdrew 55 minor charges. In court, he pleaded guilty to 148 charges and his guilty plea statement was read in court.

He targeted his victims while they were going or coming back from school or work in the morning or evening. He also targeted some in their own homes.

He would pretend to be an electrician coming to fix a geyser or other household appliances and rape them. He raped some of his victims in the presence of children, in some instances raping more than one person at a time.