Potchefstroom – The Rustenburg Regional Court in the North West recently sentenced 43-year-old serial rapist Mziwoxolo Zozi to 85 years imprisonment for seven rape crimes.
The accused, also sentenced for possession of an unlicensed gun, was declared unfit to possess one in terms of section 103 of the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act No. 60 of 2000).
Zozi was sentenced for raping several women aged between 17 and 34 in Rustenburg, Phokeng, Mooinooi and Marikana between April 2018 and July 2022.
In one of the cases reported in the early hours of a Sunday morning in April 2018, in Marikana, a 23-yer-old victim was sleeping inside her house in Skierlik village, when she was suddenly overpowered by the accused who threatened her with a firearm and ultimately raped her.
In another case reported on a Saturday in March 2022, Zozi overpowered a 17-year-old victim in Freedom Park outside Phokeng.
The victim woke up when the convict removed her blankets, pointed her with a firearm and raped her.
Zozi was identified as a possible suspect following comprehensive police investigations.
The accused was traced to Marikana, where he was arrested on 29 November 2022.
Zozo, who was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm, was linked to the crimes through forensic DNA leads.
There are five more pending rape cases against the accused in the Rustenburg Regional Court.
North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adéle Myburgh, said Zozi had been linked to other cases in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal, and Gauteng.
“The accused, who has been in custody since his arrest, will effectively serve 50 years in jail as some of the sentences will run concurrently with others,” explained Colonel Myburgh.
The Acting Provincial Police Commissioner of North West, Major General Patrick Asaneng, lauded the investigating Officer, Sergeant Obakeng Rasego of Rustenburg Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit.
Major General Asaneng also commended the state prosecutor, Advocate Thebe Nong, for working hard to secure the sentences.
He reiterated that the police will work tirelessly to ensure that perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence are brought to book.
