EFF statement on Ekurhuleni serial rapist who pleaded guilty to 93 rapes
3 November 2022
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is appalled by the heinous acts of serial rapist, Nkosinathi Phakathi, who pleaded guilty to 93 counts of rape in the Palm Ridge Magistrate Court. Phakathi went on a decade long raping spree in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, his victims were children and young women between the ages of 12 and 20.
The Ekurhuleni serial rapist now aged 32 pleaded guilty to 148 charges, which include 93 rape charges, as well as cases of sexual assault, forcing minors to witness and engage in a sexual offence, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and possession of an unlicensed firearm. He began his reign of terror at the age of 22 when he raped a 12-year old girl.
While we welcome his arrest in March 2021, Nkosinathi's case is harrowing as it took almost ten years for this rapist to be apprehended and brought before the courts. The mere existence of this serial rapists for almost a decade is indicative of the incompetence of South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and Crime Intelligence systems of this country under the ANC government. Worse, this is in a country where rape is a systematic problem with shockingly high numbers of cases reported to the police.
The most recent statistics indicate that between April and June 2022, 9 516 rape cases were opened with the SAPS. Of these, 3 780 rapes occurred in the homes of the rapists or homes of the victims and 1 546 raped in public spaces and yet, the conviction rate remains unacceptably low - between April and June 2022, only 286 rapists were convicted, with 46 rapists sentenced to life behind bars.
Women and children are raped by men, and the majority of these cases are not prosecuted.
This is a result of a criminal justice system which makes prosecuting rape almost impossible.
The SAPS lies to South Africa that it is arresting the rape crisis, but the statistics do not lie as only 16 offenders involved in 65 serial sexual offence cases were finalized and convicted in the last quarter. However, we do not need statistics to remind us of the perpetual failures of the National Prosecuting Agency (NPA) — the NPA declined to prosecute the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana for sexual violence. How many more women and how many years must pass before sexual violence perpetrators are prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to correctional services?!
Rape victims and survivors are systematically failed by the incompetent and indifferent ANC Government. The collapse of the entire criminal justice system allows for rapists to become serial rapists and reign terror on women and children for decades.
The EFF hopes that this justice, as delayed as it is, brings some relief to all the victims and survivors of the despicable serial rapist Nkosinathi Phakathi.
Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 4 November 2022
