Johannes Jojo Shabangu died after admitting to rape.
- A North West serial rapist collapsed and died in a court’s holding cells.
- He had just pleaded guilty to 14 charges of rape and 11 charges of robbery, but had not been sentenced.
- He asked his victims’ families for forgiveness when he pleaded guilty.
A North West serial rapist collapsed and died in a court’s holding cells shortly after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of rape and robbery and asked his victims’ families for forgiveness.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Henry Mamothame, Johannes Jojo Shabangu, 35, collapsed in the holding cells of the Ga-Rankuwa Regional Court on Wednesday.
He had just pleaded guilty to 14 charges of rape and 11 of robbery with aggravating circumstances in the North West High Court, sitting in the Ga-Rankuwa Regional Court.
The cause of his death is unknown.
“He fell ill and collapsed in a holding cell while the court was in recess. This was subsequent to Judge Andre Petersen receiving his guilty plea statement and subsequently finding him guilty on all charges, in accordance with the guilty plea,” Mamothame said.
“He admitted to all the charges as they are and confirmed he used the same modus operandi to prey on his victims. He also asked for forgiveness from his victims and their families.”
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Victim impact statements were supposed to be read in court before the sentencing, but the case was postponed to Thursday so that Shabangu could receive medical attention.
“It emerged in court that Shabangu was declared dead by the paramedics, and a declaration certificate was presented to Judge Petersen. He then declared proceedings finalised, and he ordered for the death certificate to be filed with the registrar of the High Court. He further ordered for an inquest docket to be registered to determine the cause of death,” Mamothame added.
Shabangu’s court appearance was in connection with incidents that took place in Winterveldt between July 2012 and December 2019. He and his accomplices allegedly raped and robbed multiple women.
Mamothame said:
The evidence contained in the indictment indicates that in some instances, Shabangu together with his accomplices, would confront couples coming from places of leisure in the evenings, threaten them with a firearm, beat up the boyfriends, rob them of their belongings and subsequently take turns to rape the female victims.
In some cases, they broke into homes and then used the same modus operandi.
“The youngest of their victims was 14 years of age and her ordeal took place in June 2015. In his guilty plea statement, which was read by his attorney, he took responsibility for all the charges he was facing and asked for forgiveness from his victims,” Mamothame said.
Shabangu’s accomplices are still at large.