The National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa has welcomed the Sterkspruit Regional Court’s sentence of 34-year-old Lesotho national Tisetso Maoeng. He was given an effective 40 years’ direct imprisonment for raping an 18-year-old woman.
The incident took place near Palmietfontein on 24 September 2025. The woman was walking to a local shop when a stranger caught up with her and asked for her cellphone number. After she declined and said she did not have a cellphone, he became aggressive.
The man grabbed her and tried to kiss her. Despite her resistance and cries for help, he raped her in an open field. He then forced her to his home, said he intended to marry her, and raped her repeatedly.
The next morning, the woman persuaded him to let her go home by promising to return that evening. He accompanied her part of the way before turning back. She immediately told her aunt, who took her to a clinic and helped her report the matter to police.
The woman later directed police to the suspect’s home. He was arrested and charged with three counts of rape and contravening the Immigration Act. At trial, the court heard from the victim and her aunt, who was the first person she told, and considered a J88 medico-legal report.
Maoeng pleaded not guilty, claiming the sexual encounters were consensual. The court found contradictions in his account and rejected it as false beyond a reasonable doubt. Regional Court Prosecutor Anele Magibile argued that rape had reached alarming proportions and that appropriate sentences were needed to protect vulnerable people.
The court imposed one year of direct imprisonment for contravening the Immigration Act and 20 years for each of the three rape counts. Parts of the sentences will run concurrently, resulting in an effective term of 40 years.
Director of Public Prosecutions for the Eastern Cape Division, Adv. Samkelo Mtwana, commended the prosecution team and law enforcement authorities. The NPA said it remains committed to prosecuting crimes against women and other vulnerable people.
