Galeshewe man sentenced to 38 years for GBVF crimes

Acting Northern Cape SAPS Provincial Commissioner Major General Luntu Ngubelanga welcomed the heavy prison sentence recently imposed by the Kimberley Regional Court on a 49-year-old man for a series of GBVF-related crimes.

Acting Northern Cape SAPS Provincial Commissioner Major General Luntu Ngubelanga has welcomed the lengthy prison sentence recently imposed by the Kimberley Regional Court on 49-year-old Themba Dipheko.

Dipheko was convicted of several gender-based violence and femicide crimes, including rape, kidnapping and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

According to provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Kock, the first incident occurred in the early hours of February 27, 2010. A 13-year-old girl and her friend were walking home in Galeshewe when they were attacked by Dipheko. He forcibly took the girl to a nearby house where he raped her at knifepoint before fleeing the scene.

In another incident on September 27, 2015, Dipheko encountered his 46-year-old ex-girlfriend on a street in Galeshewe and stabbed her in the face without provocation.

The two cases were consolidated in court and Dipheko was found guilty and sentenced as follows:

• Rape – 25 years imprisonment

• Kidnapping – 5 years imprisonment

• Assault causing serious bodily harm – 8 years imprisonment

The sentences will be served concurrently and Dipheko's name will be entered into the national sex offender registry.

Major General Ngubelanga commended Detective Sergeant Simphiwe Mdunge of the provincial Serial and Cyber ​​Crime Unit for his tireless efforts in securing this significant sentence during Women’s Month.

Ngubelanga stressed that SAPS investigators would continue to investigate all contact crimes in detail to ensure justice for the victims.