By Tanyaradzwa Ntuli
- Zenzele Thwala, Phakamani Magwaza and Mxolisi Shezi were given life sentences in KwaZulu-Natal for raping women and girls in separate incidents.
- Their names have been added to the national sex offender register, and they are banned from owning firearms.
Three men found guilty of rape in KwaZulu-Natal have each been sentenced to life in prison.
At the Nqutu Regional Court, 32-year-old Zenzele Derrick Thwala was sentenced on 30 October 2025. In March 2023, he attacked two sisters, aged 17 and 19, while they were walking home.
After demanding their phones, the older sister managed to escape. Thwala caught the younger one, dragged her to an open field and then to a house, where he kept her overnight and raped her.
She escaped through a window the next morning. Detective Constable Menzi Xaba from Vryheid arrested Thwala, who received two life sentences plus five years for kidnapping.
In another case, 26-year-old Phakamani Magwaza was jailed for life at the Eshowe Regional Court on 29 October 2025. In December 2021, he grabbed a 13-year-old girl in Mbongolwane, pulled her into a sugarcane field and raped her.
At the Scottburgh Regional Court, 43-year-old Mxolisi Shezi was sentenced to life on 27 October 2025 for raping a 28-year-old woman in Sawoti after following her home from a tavern.
All three men have been permanently added to South Africa’s sex offender register and are banned from owning firearms.
Pictured above: A court gavel.
Image source: File
