Zini instructed his two friends to drag the woman to a dark place where he forced one of them to stand guard and the other to rape the woman before he raped her.
“When the woman, who knew her attackers, asked: ‘Bongani why are you doing this to me?’ he stabbed her multiple times in her chest, and they left her for dead,” Tyali said.
Police found Zini’s wallet next to her lifeless body, which led to his arrest. Zini abandoned his bail application after community members torched his home.
State advocate Thabo Dease led the evidence of Zini’s two companions, who were 18 years old during the incident.
“They told the court that they co-operated with him out of fear because he was a known dangerous character in their village.”
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Three life terms for man who raped, killed woman in Eastern Cape
A 28-year-old man who raped an 18-year-old woman before stabbing her to death in Ngqeleni in the Eastern Cape last year was on Friday sentenced to three life terms.
Bongani Zini was convicted by the Mthatha high court after pleading not guilty to the crimes.
“The incident happened just after midnight of January 1 2023, during New Year’s celebrations at Ntsundwana village in the district of Ngqeleni,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said in a statement.
The woman was walking home from a tavern with her male schoolmate when they were accosted by Zini and two accomplices.
“One of the men attacked the woman and her companion with a knife, demanding that they hand over their cellphones. He stabbed the male schoolmate who then fled for his life.”
Zini instructed his two friends to drag the woman to a dark place where he forced one of them to stand guard and the other to rape the woman before he raped her.
“When the woman, who knew her attackers, asked: ‘Bongani why are you doing this to me?’ he stabbed her multiple times in her chest, and they left her for dead,” Tyali said.
Police found Zini’s wallet next to her lifeless body, which led to his arrest. Zini abandoned his bail application after community members torched his home.
State advocate Thabo Dease led the evidence of Zini’s two companions, who were 18 years old during the incident.
“They told the court that they co-operated with him out of fear because he was a known dangerous character in their village.”
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