The rights of two women who were raped by Bophelo Macdonald Tshemego in 2012 have prevailed in the North West High Court.
While the court affirmed the life sentences for severe bodily harm related to two specific counts, it overturned several other charges related to the same crime, citing duplication.
The lengthy judgment outlined the appeal against Tshemego's convictions that originated from a 2019 case in the Regional Court of Mmabatho, where he faced eight counts. After a trial that ended with the court imposing eight life sentences, the High Court identified critical judicial missteps, noting that the Regional Court's findings involved duplications of convictions.
While the High Court overturned multiple counts of conviction, it firmly maintained the life sentences for the two counts that adequately reflected the severity of the crimes committed, indicating the judiciary's commitment to upholding the rights of victims and ensuring justice prevails within the legal system.
"The appellant should have been convicted on counts 1 and 5, of two (2) others… The appellant should have been acquitted on counts 2 to 4 and 6 to 8. To this extent, the appeal against conviction on counts 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 is upheld," wrote Judge A Reddy in the judgment, with Judge N Motsatsi concurring.
In the review, the High Court found that the evidence abundantly supported the claim that Tshemego had committed these heinous acts. However, the court recognised a severe misdirection regarding the number of counts for which he was convicted. The judgment stated, “The conviction of the appellant on the eight counts… impugns the principle of duplication of convictions.” The court concluded that he should instead have faced charges of only two counts, thus vacating the convictions associated with counts two to four and six to eight.
On 5 May 2012 the women were sleeping in the same bed. At about 4am, one of them heard a noise coming from the apparent falling of a bath basin. She woke up intending to investigate. When she was about to get off her bed, she noticed a silhouette of a person standing next to her bed and screamed, which caused other one to wake up. He was naked with his face covered and threatened to kill them both. He proceeded to rape both of them repeatedly while stabbing them with an unknown sharp object. This constituted eight counts of rape in the view of the State.
One of the women managed to flee and ran to the third house from her residence, where she reported the matter. A group of residents entered the house, switched on the lights and found Tshemego having sexual intercourse with the other woman. He attempted to escape, but was stopped. He left behind his trouser and identity document.
Tshemego testified that he was in a relationship with one of the women. On the day in question, he said he entered through the window as per her request and then discovered that she was in the company of the other women. He claimed he had consensual sexual intercourse with both of them. The court was unconvinced by his version.
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