A nationwide operation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) has led to the arrest of 201 suspects linked to rape cases over the past ten days.
The arrests form part of an intensified crackdown on gender-based violence and femicide. Police confirmed that 56 of those taken into custody were previously wanted suspects traced to different provinces.
Among the most disturbing arrests was that of a couple—a 48-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman—from Bloubergstrand in the Western Cape. The pair is accused of sexually abusing their daughters aged three and eight. Police confiscated several electronic devices during their arrest. Charges include rape, sexual assault, sexual grooming, and production of child sexual abuse content.
In Mpumalanga, a 24-year-old man was arrested on 19 June in Tonga in connection with a gang rape case involving a 27-year-old woman. Police say the matter is still under investigation.
Several convictions were also handed down over the same period. In Limpopo, the Polokwane High Court sentenced 33-year-old serial rapist Lesley Morwamashobe Mohlala to 222 years in prison after being found guilty of rape and aggravated robbery.
In the Eastern Cape, a 42-year-old man received a life sentence at the East London High Court after raping a 13-year-old girl who later became pregnant.
The Bloemfontein Regional Court sentenced a 51-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping his 10-year-old niece. During the trial, it was revealed that he was out on parole for another rape conviction when he committed the offence.
In another case, the Waterval Regional Court in Limpopo sentenced a 25-year-old man from Tshiozwi to life imprisonment for raping his nine-year-old cousin in 2021.
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