Durban: Gang rapists given life terms

The Esikhawini Regional Court has imposed life sentences on three men who gang-raped a woman, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Friday.

"The three accused were charged with rape and robbery. They were convicted and sentenced to three life sentences each for rape and 15 years each for robbery," spokesperson Colonel Vincent Mdunge said.

Siyathokoza Cezu Masinga, 26, Mxolisi Raymond Mthembu, 21, and Sibusiso Sphiwe Kunene, 24, were sentenced on Thursday.

Their 24-year-old victim was on her way to visit a friend in April last year, accompanied by a male friend in Esikhawini, near Richards Bay, when the three confronted them at gunpoint. 

They assaulted the male friend, forced the woman back into her home, and gang raped and robbed her. 

Police arrested them two days later in the Kwandaya area.

- SAPA

Source: News24 (06/04/2013): http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Gang-rapists-given-life-terms-20130405