The Northern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, and her management team welcomed the life sentences handed down by the Hopetown Regional Court to two brothers for the brutal rape of a 31-year-old woman in Hopetown.
THE NORTHERN Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, and her management team welcomed the life sentences handed down by the Hopetown Regional Court to brothers Kobus and Abraham Syster, aged 25 and 31, for the brutal rape of a 31-year-old woman in Hopetown.
According to provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Timothy Sam, the court heard that on January 2, 2024, the two men broke into the victim’s home and took turns raping her while her boyfriend was asleep. They then fled the scene with the victim’s belongings.
The brothers pleaded guilty and received life imprisonment for rape, along with an additional 12-month sentence for theft. Both sentences will run concurrently. The court also declared the accused unfit to possess firearms and ordered their names to be recorded in the National Register for Sex Offenders.
Lieutenant-General Otola praised the efforts of the prosecution, led by advocate Nicola Van Niekerk, and the investigative team, headed by Detective Sergeant Ricardo Kock, for their diligent work in securing the lifelong incarceration of the accused. She emphasised that collaboration remains vital in the fight against gender-based violence.
“As we approach the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence awareness campaign, the police will be bold in their approach while supporting the theme: ‘30 Years of Advancing Collective Action to End Violence Against Women and Children’,” said Otola.
