South African High Court, Eastern Cape Division Gqeberha has sentenced a Lindile Hini (44) to life imprisonment for his 70-year-old female neighbor R3PE.
The National Prosecution Agency (NPA) said in a statement on Friday, April 4, 2025 that the court also sentenced Hini to a three-year fine with an intention of committing R3PE and violating the Seniors Act for two years.
The crimes took place on the eve of October 29, 2023 in Quasaker, Gqeberha.
“The pensioner, at her home in Quasaker, turned on the light to sleep and opened the back door for her son, had her next door neighbor Hini, entered the house through the back door, undressed, undressed, told her that he had been waiting for the “opportunity” and he took her Pants and S3xally Assaults Assaults pread her, read her lawsuit.
After the attack, Hini asked for a bucket of water to wash his genitals, dress up, and leave.
The complainant later contacted a friend and told her that her neighbor R3 had let her go. The next day, she introduced her son to the attack and they called the police.
Hini was arrested at his residence on November 2, 2023. The complainant was taken to the Thuthuzela Care Center, where she received medical care and counseling to address her physical and emotional well-being.
Senior state advocate Ansiot Kimfley argued for the proper judgment and pointed out that the attack was premeditated because Hini admitted to pursuing the complainant for some time.
Jinfuli stressed the cruelty of the attack, highlighting Hini’s calculations of the complainant’s house, his ignorance of her safety.
In his defense, Heaney claimed that the old woman tricked him while drunk. This statement was rejected by the court because it was obvious that the complainant was a vulnerable woman in the seventies who had suffered violent, unconsensual attacks.
The complainant expressed suicide thoughts and fear in a victim impact statement prepared by the Court Preparation Officer Ayanda Heugh. She eventually decided to sell her home, worried that Hini might not be sentenced to jail and that she would continue to live in fear.
Hini, a first-time offender, was convicted on January 16, 2025 and has been imprisoned since her arrest. His sentence will be held concurrently with life imprisonment. Also ordered Hini may not have a gun and his name will be entered into the sex offender registry.
Eastern Cape Attorney Mr Barry Madolo welcomed the verdict, emphasizing a strong message to the court for the seriousness of the treatment of such crimes.
