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By Botho Molosankwe 
5h ago
Johannesburg – A man who committed a wave of rapes while on parole has been sentenced to three life sentences and 154 more years behind bars.
Collen Fakude from Mpumalanga not only raped his victims but in some cases forced his boyfriends to watch.
In one incident, Fakude forced the victim’s younger brother to watch as he raped his sister.
According to Colonel Donald Mdhluli of the Mpumalanga Police, Fakude’s first known incident as a serial rapist was in 2017 when he attacked a woman waiting for a taxi with her boyfriend in Ramalema, near Bushbuckridge.
He threatened them with a firearm and then forced his victims to move into nearby bushes, where he raped her while her boyfriend watched. When he finished, he took his belongings and fled.
In February 2018, Fakude took advantage of a victim who was driving between Bushbuckridge and Graskop.
“While he was still on the road, he saw a half-naked woman on the roadside near the Injaka Dam in Bushbuckridge.
Then he stopped to help her. While she was still trying to understand what was going on, (Fakude) suddenly appeared and pointed a gun at her, forced her to drive into the nearby bushes and raped her.
“Fakude then stole all of her belongings and fled the scene.”
Two months later, Fakude attacked a woman with her brother. He held them hostage at the Gardee crossing, next to the Injaka Dam, where he forced the couple into nearby bushes and raped the woman in front of her brother.
Like his other victims, Fakude ended the attack by stealing their belongings before fleeing the scene.
Six months later, in October, Fakude attacked a woman who was with her boyfriend at the Hlamalani Trust in Bushbuckridge.
Pointing a firearm at them, he forced the couple to drive into the nearest bushes and raped the victim in front of her boyfriend.
Mdluli said their investigations led to Fakude’s arrest in September 2019.
He said they learned that Fakude was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2003 by the Mhala Regional Court for rape, robbery and possession of a firearm without a license.
“It was clear to the investigative team that Fakude had become a serial rapist.
“The investigation team investigated Faduke’s background and established that he was released on parole in 2013 and that was when he had the opportunity to commit these crimes.
“The investigation team presented enough evidence in court to show that Fakude was the one who attacked the victims even though some were in the company of other men.”
In sentencing at the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela last week, the judge declared that since Fakude’s probation had been revoked, he would have to complete part of his 27-year sentence that would end in 2029.
After completing that sentence, he would begin his 154 years and three life sentences.
The Mpumalanga police leadership praised the “team spirit and dedication shown by the astute members of the investigation, the prosecution and the judiciary to ensure that justice is done for the victims who suffered the barbaric acts of the man.”
MESS
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