Serial rapist sentenced to six life terms
Image: NPA
SERIAL rapist Lungile Buhlungu who was sentenced to six life terms and 50 years direct imprisonment will have to undergo psychological evaluation to determine whether he will benefit from any intervention available for his sexual behaviour.
Described by the state as an unrepentant criminal, Buhlungu was convicted on six counts of rape, two counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, four counts of kidnapping, a count of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and a count of illegal possession of a firearm.
His five-year reign of terror on his six victims ended in 2019 when he was arrested and linked to the rapes through DNA.
The first three women were raped in Delft on the evening of July 11, 2014 after Buhlungu and his accomplice, who were both armed, confronted them. They forced them at gunpoint into the bushes and took turns raping them.
At one stage, one of the victims attempted to escape when one of the two men fired a shot in the air. They released them in the early hours of the next day.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the women testified about how negatively the incident had affected them.
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'The accused raped the fourth victim on the evening of 05 October 2017. She was attacked while walking home and woke up in the hospital with a wound on the right side of her head, and her right eye was red. She was found by a motorist lying naked at the local graveyard.
She knows the accused as they stayed in the same informal settlement in Delft. She had to leave the province to escape the traumatic environment. Other two women were raped on the evening of 12 May 2018 when they were taken by a vehicle to the Delft graveyard and raped at gunpoint. The incident hurt them as their relationships have never been the same after their ordeal,' said Ntabazalila.
The father of six Buhlungu pleaded not guilty to all the charges, claiming that he was imprisoned at Pollsmoor Prison in 2014 and knew nothing about the allegations against him.
Senior State Adv Esna Erasmus led the evidence of Lieutenant Colonel Elmarie Alta Myburgh, an expert on sexual offences investigations, sexual and violence risk assessment, forensic sex crimes investigations, and the assessment and management of stalking. She testified that serial rapists only stop these crimes through arrest and not by themselves.
Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions Nicolette Bell applauded the victims for coming out and testified against their tormentor, ensuring justice for themselves and their families.
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