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Collen Fakude is escorted by the police to serve his sentence. (Photo by Oris Mnisi)
- A Bushbuckridge serial rapist has been sentenced to three life sentences and 154 years behind bars.
- Collen Fakude targeted women in the Bushbuckridge area, raped them in front of his partners before robbing them.
- Fakude was released on parole in 2013 after serving 10 years for a similar crime.
A Bushbuckridge serial rapist in Mpumalanga will spend the next 154 years behind bars following a multi-year reign of terror. He was also sentenced to three life sentences by the Mpumalanga High Court in Nelspruit last week.
In one of the incidents in 2017, Collen Fakude found one of his victims waiting for a taxi with her boyfriend in Ramalema near Bushbuckridge, where he threatened them with a firearm, said police spokesman Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
He then forced them to go to the nearby bushes, where he raped the woman in front of her boyfriend. He then took all his belongings and fled the scene. Cases of rape and armed robbery were opened.
In another incident in 2017 also in Ramalema, he found a woman waiting for a taxi with her boyfriend. He threatened them with a firearm and forced them to go to some nearby bushes, where he raped the woman, again while her boyfriend was watching. He then took all his belongings and fled the scene. Again, cases of rape and armed robbery were opened.
READ | 10 life sentences and 159 years for serial rapist in Gauteng
In February 2018, Fakude took advantage of a woman who was driving between Bushbuckridge and Graskop. He saw a half-naked woman on the side of the road near the Injaka Dam in Bushbuckridge and stopped to help her. As she tried to figure out what was going on, Fakude suddenly appeared, pointed a gun at her, and forced her to drive into the nearby bushes, where he raped her. Fakude then stole all of her belongings and fled the scene.
In April 2018, he assaulted a woman who was with his brother. He held them hostage at Gardee Junction, alongside the Injaka Dam, forced them to go to nearby bushes, and raped the woman in front of her brother. Like his other victims, Fakude stole their belongings before fleeing the scene.
In October 2018, he attacked a woman who was with her boyfriend at the Hlamalani Trust in Bushbuckridge. He pointed a firearm at them, forced them to drive to the nearest bushes and raped the woman in front of her boyfriend.
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Mdhluli said police investigated all the cases and found that Fakude was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2003 by the Mhala Regional Court for rape, robbery and possession of a firearm without a license. He was released on parole in 2013.
Through forensic evidence, Fakude was linked to the Bushbuckridge cases and arrested in September 2019.
In addition to the latest sentences, Fakude will complete his initial 27-year prison sentence until 2029, as his probation has been revoked. Consequently, he will spend 154 years behind bars. The three life sentences will run concurrently with the 154-year sentence.
