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A man has been sentenced to three life terms and a combined 279 years in the North West High Court for 27 offences he was charged with, including rape and murder.

Thabang Gordon Moloi, 28, was sentenced to life imprisonment on each count of murder and two of rape.

“Moloi’s unrelated charges include murder, attempted murder, multiple robberies with aggravating circumstances, multiple kidnappings, multiple housebreakings, theft, attempted escaping from lawful custody and escaping from lawful custody,” North West NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame said in a statement yesterday.

According to the regional NPA, on the night of 10 July 2016, at Ikageng near Potchefstroom, Moloi kidnapped a woman he met on the street, dragged her to a nearby house, and raped her.

“In a separate incident that took place on the night of August 14, 2017, Moloi, together with an accomplice known as Rodger, met a couple on the street and started assaulting the boyfriend with stones on the head and wielding their knives.

“They then dragged the lady to the next street and took turns to rape her,” Mamothame added.

On November 12, 2017, Moloi and his accomplice approached a man who was in a motor vehicle with his girlfriend and threatened the couple with knives, kidnapped them, and instructed the man to drive towards Klerksdorp.

They tied up the man, demanded his bank cards and pin with the intention to make a withdrawal. The victim escaped while the car was in motion, and Moloi and his accomplice subsequently drove to Jouberton to drop off the victim’s girlfriend before taking off with his car, bank cards, and a laptop.

On December 3 2017, Moloi and Rodger kidnapped three women at knifepoint, took them to an isolated location where they tied them up with shoelaces, and proceeded to rape one of them while recording themselves.

They also robbed the victims of money before fleeing the scene. In a separate incident on December 10 2017 at Ikageng, Moloi and Rodger came across two women near a pub,  kidnapped them at knifepoint, and took them to an isolated area where they robbed them of their cellphones and demanded their bank cards and pin codes.

“Moloi left the scene alone to go and withdraw money from the victim’s bank accounts. Rodger proceeded to rape one of the victims in the absence of the first accused.

“The female who was watching while her friend was raped managed to grab Rodger’s knife and stab him to death,” Mamothame further wrote.

Moloi was subsequently arrested on December 19 2017 and charged and on December 21, 2017.

After several attempts, Moloi managed to escape police custody when he freed himself of the foot-cuffs, jumped out of a police truck, and escaped.

“Amongst other offences he committed following his escape, the court convicted him for breaking into a house and robbing cellphones from three women. He was also found guilty of robbing an adult female with a Toyota Tazz and money and drove around with her in Jouberton and Albania before dumping her on the road,” Mamothame added.

On April 6 2018, at the Primosa location near Potchefstroom, Moloi committed another offence with a man known as Muzwa. They stabbed a man before robbing him of his belongings. The man was certified dead at the scene.

Moloi was arrested again on August 20 2018 on more charges. According to the regional NPA, Moloi was currently serving a 15-year sentence on a charge of kidnapping and robbery, and he has another pending rape case that was unrelated to the 27 offences he was sentenced for.

He has four other convictions to his name, including theft, two robberies with aggravating circumstances, and kidnapping.

“In aggravation of sentence, advocate Simphiwo Jika urged the court to consider the ordeal suffered by Moloi’s victims.

“Judge Nicholas Laubscher shared this sentiment and also alluded to the responsibility that the criminal justice system has in ensuring that communities are protected from such violent and deadly acts,” Mamothame said. — News24.