Bloemfontein Landlord Who Sent Men to Rape Zimbabwean Tenant Loses Appeal, Gets 12 Years
A 2008 attack on a Zimbabwean woman by two men has come back into focus after a Bloemfontein landlord was found to have played a role in the sexual assault of her tenant.
Nyaleng Taaibosch had argued her conviction on appeal, but the Free State High Court found that her actions before leaving the woman alone with the attackers amounted to participation in the rape.
The court nevertheless replaced her life sentence with 12 years in prison.
Also Read: Former Police Officer Jailed For Rape Of A Woman In Custody
Tenant Was Targeted After Returning Home
The woman, who was 29 at the time, had been staying at Taaibosch’s property for several months.
According to IOL, on the day of the attack in October 2008, she had gone out with Taaibosch’s seven-year-old daughter to have their hair braided at a friend’s home.
When they returned at around 9pm, several people were inside the house, including Taaibosch’s boyfriend.
The court heard that Taaibosch identified her tenant to two men and made comments about her being a foreigner. She told them they could do what they wanted to her and later kill her.
She also told the men to “teach her” about Bloemfontein.
The appeal court interpreted those statements as showing that Taaibosch intended for the woman to be raped.
Door Locked From Outside
Taaibosch then left the property with her daughter and the other occupants, leaving the tenant behind with the two men.
The door was locked from the outside.
The men subsequently attacked the woman. She was repeatedly raped and subjected to further violence, including being burned with cigarette stubs and threatened with a knife.
She eventually managed to escape through a kitchen window after being sent there to get water.
She fled to the friend’s house where she had earlier gone to have her hair braided, with the judgment recording that she was almost half naked when she escaped.
Court Finds She Accepted Risk Of Rape
The appeal court examined whether Taaibosch’s actions were enough to make her an accomplice.
It concluded that her conduct before leaving the house supported the inference that she intended to facilitate the sexual assault.
The court also found that she had at least anticipated the possibility that the woman would be raped and accepted that risk.
Her conviction as an accomplice to rape was therefore upheld.
Taaibosch was convicted alongside Shuping Sydney Gopane. She and only one of the men involved in the attack were arrested.
Life Sentence Reduced
While the conviction remained in place, the court found grounds to reconsider Taaibosch’s punishment.
It noted that she was not physically present when the rape occurred and that she had not personally inflicted the injuries suffered by the complainant.
The court found these circumstances constituted substantial and compelling circumstances for departing from the prescribed minimum of life imprisonment.
Her sentence was consequently reduced to 12 years.