Durban – A teenager who kidnapped and raped a woman has been jailed for an effective 25 years behind bars.
Khetha Prince Zulu, 19, pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and rape of Philile Nzuza in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday before Judge Piet Bezuidenhout.
Zulu’s plea came a day after sangoma Lindokuhle Mzimela, 25, pleaded guilty to the kidnapping, rape and murder of Nzuza.
Mzimela said he and Zulu had been drinking the entire day on December 1, 2022, and had been leaving a tavern at 10pm when they spotted Nzuza and decided to rob her of her cellphone.
When she didn’t have a cellphone to steal, the men took the 38-year-old to a vacant spot and, under duress, ordered her to undress.
Mzimela said he raped her first, and then Zulu took his turn.
“I realised that she would report us and get us arrested. I decided to kill her. I slit her throat with my knife. We waited until she was still and ran away,” said Mzimela.
In his guilty plea, handed to the court by Legal aid attorney Amanda Hulley, Zulu said that the victim had begged them to let her go after the rape.
He said he told Mzimela to let her go “as they had only agreed to rape her.”
“However, Lindokuhle slit her throat and threatened to harm me if I said anything to anyone.“
Zulu said he was scared to tell anyone because Mzimela was older than him.
He said he was truly remorseful for his actions.
In a victim impact statement handed to the court by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Mbongeni Mthembu, Nzuza’s sister Nothi described her sister as a loving mother.
“She left behind her five children, which she loved so dearly. My sister was a hard worker, a go-getter.”
Mzimela’s sentence is expected to take place today.
IOL
