Alleged serial rapist caught after six years
A convicted rapist on the run for six years has finally been caught, but during his time evading police, investigators believe he raped a further five women.
|||Johannesburg - A convicted rapist on the run for six years has finally been caught, but during his time evading police, investigators believe he raped a further five women.
Alfred Motsamai was convicted in 2008 for the rape of his ex-girlfriend outside her home in Roodepoort the year before, but released on bail as his trial proceeded.
In 2009, he was sentenced to an effective 10 years' imprisonment, but was granted leave to appeal his sentence and conviction.
The magistrate granted Motsamai bail pending his appeal process, but when his appeal was set down at the high court in Joburg in 2010, it was immediately dismissed and a warrant issued for his arrest. When police went to Motsamai's home to arrest him, he had vanished without a trace.
For the next six years, police hunted for Motsamai.
According to the indictment served against Motsamai, investigators believed that between 2011 and 2013 he raped five other women in five separate incidents across Ekurhuleni.
On July 31, 2011, the first victim was waiting at a bus stop in Katlehong and a man believed to be Motsamai approached her in his white car. He offered her a lift, which she took. He drove the young woman to a secluded area in Leondale where he ordered her to undress, forced her to have oral sex and then raped her.
On August 7 that same year, he allegedly raped a woman at a house party in Germiston, dragging the inebriated woman into a bedroom at the house and penetrating her. However, the incident was interrupted when the suspect’s wife came into the bedroom.
On September 9, 2012, Motsamai allegedly kidnapped a woman in Elandsfontein, locking her in his car and driving her to Huntersfield Stadium. He subsequently raped her.
On January 27, 2013, he allegedly used a firearm to kidnap another young woman, raping her in his bakkie.
That same day, he targeted another woman in Shongweni, drove her to the Huntersfield Stadium and raped her.
According to an investigator working on the case, these are just the five women who have been connected to Motsamai so far.
The now 35-year-old had been hiding out in the Free State for quite some time. The lead investigator in the case, Mzukisi Tswina, arrested him on February 15.
Motsamai has been charged with nine counts of rape for the multiple sexual acts he allegedly forced upon on the five women, and four counts of kidnapping.
shain.germaner@inl.co.za
@ShainGermaner
The Star