A 22-year-old man in South Africa has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and robbery of an 83-year-old woman in the Ntshawini area near KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal.

The woman relied on a wheelchair to move around.

In November 2018, the man entered the victim’s house during the early morning hours where he physically attacked her before raping her and then stealing R27, equivalent to 20 thousand Kwacha.

The National Prosecution Authority (NPA)’s Natasha Kara said: “The woman recognised him and was able to identify him, thus leading to his arrest. The director of public prosecutions in KZN Advocate [Elaine] Zungu welcomes the conviction in this matter.”

The NPA said it hoped that the sentence would send a strong message that gender-based violence would not be tolerated in the country.