BY STAFF REPORTER
eMalahleni: A 36-year-old has sentenced to three life terms and the additional 40 years imprisonment by the eMalahleni Magistrate’s Court. Gcina Gama, was convicted and sentenced after the court found him guilty for multiple counts of rape, murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Monica Nyuswa, Mpumalanga Directors of Public Prosecutions Spokesperson, said the accused pleaded guilty and was subsequently charged along with his co-accused Siyabonga Fana Dlamini (42,) who pleaded not guilty and the state applied for separation of trial. “The court heard that between 2018 and 2020, Gama and Dlamini were harassing women who were hitch-hiking on the N4 Road in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga. In one incident, two women were in the company of Musa Maluleka when Gama and Dlamini emerged. The pair attacked the trio, robbed them of their belongings and gang-raped the women, they further stab Maluleka who succumbed to his injuries,” Nyuswa said.
She said Dlamini`s hearing is set down for 28 January 2022 at the same magistrate’s court. State prosecutor, Maureen Nkosi, addressed the court about the scourge of gender-based violence in the society and its impact, urging the court to impose a suitable sentence. The court sentenced Gama and also declared him unfit to possess a firearm. The Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Sonja Ntuli, said the sentence demonstrates that the criminal justice system is effective and working tirelessly to protect the victims of crime, and grateful to the investigations team for presenting a solid case that ensured justice to the victims.