A man is in critical condition after surviving a horrific crash on the M19 in Pinetown, west of Durban, on Wednesday. The incident occurred just before 9am under the Otto Volek bridge when the driver of a single-vehicle accident lost control and rolled multiple times before crashing into the concrete bridge. ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said the driver suffered severe injuries and was placed on a manual ventilator at the scene. Due to the severity of his condition, the decision was made to airlift the man to a nearby hospital for urgent treatment.
Motorists have been advised to avoid the area as emergency services work to clear the scene. This comes less than 24 hours after another deadly crash in Hammarsdale, where a man lost his life in a head-on collision between a light motor vehicle and a truck on the N3. Jamieson said the driver of the car, who was the sole occupant, sustained major injuries and was declared deceased at the scene after being trapped in the wreckage. The truck driver suffered moderate injuries.
Brave woman ended years of serial rapist’s rein: Man who raped 19 women was disarmed and shot by victim
Limpopo spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said Maluleke was also sentenced for 12 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.“The accused pleaded guilty in terms of Section 112 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Act. In his statement, the accused stated that between 2015 and 2021 he had entered the victims’ homesteads during the night where he threatened, robbed the victims before raping them,” said Malabi-Dzhangi. During his criminal rein, Maluleke had also created a Facebook account which he used to lure unsuspecting victims who travelled from Johannesburg, Alexandra, Mokopane, Eastern Cape and QwaQwa under the pretence that he had secured security and domestic jobs for them.
“Upon their arrival at Tzaneen, he would threaten them with a knife and a firearm before raping them. He would then rob them of belongings such as money, cell phones and other valuables,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.Maluleke was later arrested at a hospital after one of the victims shot him in the leg. The brave woman had turned the tables on Maluleke and shot him with his own firearm, which he was using to threaten her. In aggravation of sentence, State advocate Muneiwa Ratshibvumo submitted that the accused took advantage of vulnerable women who were desperate to find employment and violated them sexually, and robbed them.
Ratshibvumo submitted that Maluleke had ruined the women’s lives, and violated their dignity. She concluded by submitting that Maluleke had stripped away the trust the victims had in men, and they suffered emotionally, and were devastated by the ordeal. In sentencing Maluleke, Acting Judge Ephraim Makgoba remarked that the accused committed these offences over a long period of time and the prescribed life imprisonment sentence would be a lenient sentence due to the multiplicity of the offences. Makgoba said Maluleke capitalised on the high rate of unemployment across the country to lure the women to Tzaneen, and further used violence with a firearm and a knife when committing these offences.
Ultimately, the court slapped Maluleke with an effective sentence of 98 years imprisonment. Meanwhile, Director of Public Prosecutions in Limpopo, advocate Ivy Thenga has welcomed the sentence imposed on Maluleke, adding that she hopes that it will deter other perpetrators from committing similar offences. Thenga further commended the prosecution led by Ratshibvumo and the investigating officer, Sergeant Mokgadi Ishmael Matjeka from the Limpopo serial and electronic crime investigation unit “for their diligent work”.
