- convicted rapist awaits sentencing for another rape charge
After weeks of hunting down a rapist who was terrorising women and girls in Francistown, Gerald Estates police last week Tuesday nabbed and charged 24-year-old Kobamelo Thomas with five counts of rape.
Thomas who is also well known as a cellphone thief and jail bird, allegedly raped at knife point a girl aged 11 and four women between the months of July and August this year.
Appearing before Francistown Magistrate Court last week Thursday, Thomas was also charged with two counts of robbing two of his victims of cellphones valued at P1 800 and P2 000 respectively.
According to evidence shared before Principal Magistrate Ditebogo Nthuli, the serial rapist was arrested on Tuesday, at his friend’s place in the Gerald Estates. The victims Thomas sexually violated are a Form three student aged 16 years, a 21-year-old tertiary student, 31- and 30-year-old women, all being residents of Gerald Estates.
“We apply for the suspect be remanded to enable police to complete their investigations and to collect blood samples from the suspect for forensic analysis to be carried out. Furthermore, for him to be finger printed to check if he has any previous convictions,” said Prosecutor Mompoloki Mabalane, during Thomas’s arraignment.
The suspect was not asked to take plea for the five rape and two robbery charges. Thomas returns to Court on the 11th September.
Still in Magistrate Nthuli’s court, 40-year-old repeat child rapist serving 10-year prison term, was convicted and committed to Francistown High Court for raping a 11-year-old girl.
The 40-year-old man previously raped a five-year-old girl, an offence he is currently serving 10 years for. While on bail, John is said to have also sometime in September broke into a house and sexually assaulted a 11-year-old girl while she was asleep with her two siblings. After subjecting the girl to a traumatic ordeal, John is said to have dashed out in to the night, only to be arrested by neighbours who mounted a manhunt for him.
Committing him to Francistown High Court for sentencing, Principal Magistrate Nthuli said,” my jurisdiction limits me to sentencing a rapist to a maximum of 20 years; the convict in this instance is a repeat offender and this calls for a stiffer sentence.”
“After extensive consultation and research, the convict faces a possible minimum sentence of 30 years to a maximum of life imprisonment. And this penalty is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court.”
