A security guard at a local primary school in KwaZulu-Natal has been sentenced in the Empangeni Regional Court for rape and sexual assault.
Ayanda Lembede, 37, was convicted of the crimes committed against two learners at the school, aged eight and nine-years-old.
The incidents took place in Empangeni between 2021 and 2022.
The court heard Lembede was a security guard at a school in the area and the girls were learners at the school when he committed the offences.
He threatened to kill the girls if they told anyone of his evil doings.
One of the girls confided in her mother and this led to the other girl also speaking up about the incident.
Lembede was arrested after the girls’ parents reported the matter to police. The girls were taken to the Ngwelezane Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) for medical and psycho-social assistance.
State Prosecutor Lungisile Bhengu led the testimonies of the two girls and their mothers, along with the doctor who examined them.
In their victim impact statement, one of the girls said the incident had traumatised her mentally and emotionally, while the other girl said after the incident she could not focus at school and had to move to another school.
Lembede was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of one girl. While he was also charged with rape of the other girl, the court convicted him on the competent verdict of sexual assault to which he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
The court further declared him unfit to possess a firearm and ordered his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders. Lembede was also deemed unfit to work with children.
The provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said curbing the scourge of gender-based violence and sexual offences is an organisational priority for the NPA.
“Together with our partners in the Justice Cluster, we are mandated to fight for justice on behalf of the victims of crime, moreover, the most vulnerable ones,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
IOL