Polokwane – Evans Killer Ramahlo – one of the two armed men who robbed couples and raped the females in the Tzaneen area – has begun serving his more than 100-year prison sentence.
The Polokwane Division of High Court in Limpopo on Monday, (30 October 2023), sentenced the 28-year-old accused to 102 years imprisonment for robbery with firearms and rape.
The court heard that the dastardly crimes were committed between January 2021 and November 2021, in Motupa village Bolobedu South, Tzaneen policing area.
During that period, communities were terrorised by two armed men, who targeted couples they found strolling around villages at night.
Brandishing weapons, the assailants robbed the couples of their belongings such as cellphones, and raped the females in front of their partners.
Perhaps intent on living up to his odd middle name the accused Evans Killer Ramahlo also targeted couples driving motor vehicles.
In an unimaginable act of depravity, the court heard that after robbing them of their valuables and raping the female occupants Evans Killer Ramahlo would compel his male victims to have sex with the rape survivors.
The crimes were reported to the SA Police Service.
The police Tzaneen Family Violence, Children Protection, and Sexual Offenses Unit, and Sergeant Glenda Mathebula probed the abominable crimes.
A Tzaneen police tracing team recovered a cellphone belonging to one of the victims, which led to the arrest of the accused on Monday 14 February 2022. He had been remanded in custody since then.
Police said DNA evidence linked Evans Killer Ramahlo to three other reported cases from the same area.
The accused was convicted and sentenced on the following charges:
- Four counts of robberies with aggravating circumstances: 13 years imprisonment each.
- Two counts of rape: 25 years imprisonment each, of which 5 years are wholly suspended from a period of 5 years on condition that the accused is not convicted of an offense of rape during the period of suspension.
The sentences for robberies with aggravating circumstances and rape shall run concurrently.
The accused is declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Section 103(1) of Act 60 of 2000 (the Firearms Control Act).
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the sentence handed down by Polokwane High Court.
“We welcome the lengthy sentence imposed on this senseless criminal. The sentence will go a long way in restoring trust in the Criminal Justice System,” said Lieutenant General Hadebe.
“The sentence augurs well especially as the country is about to observe the 16 Days of Activism campaign for no violence against women and children.”
