By Doreen Mokgolo
- Former PRASA security guard Sipho Lucas Phiri allegedly raped girls as young as 13 years old.
- Court heard he used fake stories to lure women, then threatened them with a gun before raping them.
The man accused of being the Thembisa and Daveyton serial rapist told his victims he wouldn’t rob them — all he wanted was their “kuku”, or vagina.
The Gauteng North High Court, sitting at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court, heard on Tuesday that Sipho Lucas Phiri, a former PRASA security guard, faces 145 charges.
These include 44 counts of rape, 43 of kidnapping and 41 of pointing a firearm.
The court also heard that Phiri is charged with fraud, obstruction of justice, forcing someone to witness a sexual act, and breaking police and firearms laws.
Phiri, who is 40, is accused of attacking girls and women aged between 13 and 34.
Some of the girls were just 14 and 16 when they were allegedly raped.
His reign of terror ended when he was arrested on 22 January 2023.
He has pleaded not guilty and was denied bail by the Daveyton Magistrate’s Court.
Phiri took notes in a black notebook as witnesses were cross-examined in court on Tuesday.
Investigating officer Sergeant Christian Popela and investigative psychologist Lieutenant Colonel Humbulani Matshinge Lebese testified as the state’s final witnesses.
Lebese told the court Phiri used the same method in every case. “He would offer women a lift, and once inside his car, he would pull out a gun and threaten them,” she said.
“If they didn’t agree to get in, he would force them at gunpoint.”
Lebese said Phiri talked to his victims about their personal lives before threatening to kill them if they screamed.
“He would say he doesn’t want to rob them, just what every man wants from a woman — ‘kuku’, vagina,” said Lebese.
She said Phiri forced the women to undress and lie down in the back seat of his car.
He raped them without using a condom and ejaculated on cloths, socks, plastic bags or pants — trying to avoid leaving DNA.
Lebese said Phiri mostly attacked between 6pm and 5am in Thembisa and Daveyton, where public transport was limited. But in Putfontein, he struck during the day.
She said that from September to December 2022, there were 13 cases, and by 14 January 2023, three more were reported.
Phiri warned his victims not to look at him, the car or its number plate — and not to go to the police.
Lebese’s report confirmed all attacks were done by the same person, who she classified as a serial rapist.
Sergeant Popela said that during an identity parade, four witnesses picked out Phiri. One identified someone else, while two couldn’t recognise anyone.
After the lineup, Phiri told police that he had already appeared in court three times and some witnesses may have seen him before.
The trial continues.
Pictured above: Sipho Lucas Phiri.
Image source: Doreen Mokgolo
