“A beast” and “evil” were the words that the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg used when it sentenced a 32-year-old serial rapist to 15 life terms, plus 105 years behind bars.

Kito Christopher Malumbele was convicted of 52 counts, including 12 rape and 17 kidnapping charges.

According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Hurbetin Phindi Louw-Mjonondwane, Malumbele started his reign of terror in Tshepisong in Soweto in April 2014.

“During 2016, the investigating officer received one of the cases. Unbeknown to him, there [were] 13 more cases. He traced the accused by using the telephone records of the victim’s robbed cell phone,” Mjonondwane said.

She added that the officer arrested Malumbele on June 17, 2016.

After his DNA was positively linked to the case, the forensic science laboratory issued an investigative lead report that linked him to more cases, Mjonondwane added.

“The accused ambushed his victims and held them at knife point while dragging them into open fields.  There he would rob them of their belongings and rape them,” she said.

In some cases, the accused and his accomplice raped daughters and mothers in front of each other, she added. In another case, a woman was raped her while her crying baby was next to her.

Aggravation of sentence

In aggravation of sentence, State advocate Nerissa Muller presented the evidence of Captain Myburgh of the police’s Investigative Psychology Unit.

Myburgh classified Malumbele as a serial rapist.

“She testified that, during her interview with the accused, he still vehemently denied that he committed these crimes.  Instead, he claimed that he might have had consensual sex with some of the victims,” Mjonondwane said.

Malumbele denied he knew the names and faces of the women he was accused of raping. Instead, he said they may have been one of his “one-night stands”.

Myburgh said Malumbele’s statements indicated and proved he had no respect for women and only saw them as sexual objects.

“She (Myburgh) indicated to the court that the accused has proven that he has a very poor prognosis for rehabilitation and will most likely remain a threat to society as long as he is alive,” Mjonondwane said.

The NPA has welcomed the sentence and hopes that it will serve as a deterrent to like-minded rapists who target defenceless women.