Illegal Lesotho national sentenced to life imprisonment for rape of minor

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An illegal Lesotho national has been sentenced to life imprisonment for rape of an 8-year-old child by the Springs regional court.

Thabo Kgwete, 34, was also given two years direct imprisonment for being illegal in the country. 

Magistrate Nkhesani Moila ordered that his name be added on the national registers for sexual offenders, and he be declared unfit to work with children or possess a firearm.

Moila also ordered that he should be deported to the country of his origin after serving his sentence.  

According to Lumka Mahanjana, the National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson, Kgwete was employed as a security guard at the flats where the child was residing with her father and stepmother.

“On the evening of February 26, 2023, the stepmother was having a birthday party celebration at her flat on the second floor. The child then went with her siblings to play on the first floor where Kgwete’s flat was.

“After some time, the siblings left her playing with her phone. Kgwete then approached, grabbed and dragged her to his flat where he undressed and raped her after he let her go.”

Mahanjana said a case was opened with the police the following day after the stepmother noticed that the child was not well.

Kgwete was arrested the same day and has been in custody since after the state successfully opposed bail.

She continued; “In court Kgwete pleaded guilty only to the charge of being illegal in the country but denied raping the child and said he was not at his place the day of the incident.

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“Through his attorney he asked the court to be lenient when imposing a sentence. However, prosecutor Salesah Phahlamohlaka was able to deduce evidence that proved that indeed Kgwete raped the child.

“In aggravation, Phahlamohlaka told the court that Kgwete committed a serious offence towards a minor child that was known to him, furthermore Kgwete robbed the child an opportunity to explore her sexuality and womanhood.”

Handing down the sentence, the magistrate agreed with the state that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the personal circumstances of the man.

She further said that it was the duty of the court to protect the most vulnerable in the society which are children and women. She said the child’s life will never be the same after the rape.