A man who terrorised a community for over a decade was sentenced to 8 life terms plus 553 years in prison after being found guilty on 70 counts including rape.
The 35-year-old Sipho Samson Masombuka was sentenced on Thursday by the High Court Division of Mpumalanga, sitting in Delmas.
Judge Neliswa Mali referred to Masombuka as a heartless criminal who had to be removed from society.
The Court heard how Masombuka terrorised vulnerable women aged between 16 and 40, in their homes.
He would often break into houses whilst his victims were sleeping, before robbing and then raping them.
In other cases, he would kidnap his victims and rape and attack them in the streets.
Several victims opened cases over the years and police worked very hard to finally arrest and convict Masombuka, whom they called a maniac.
