File
A 36-year-old Eastern Cape policeman, Ntshatsheli Nogcantsi, has been jailed for 15 years for raping a 24-year-old woman back in 2013.
The National Prosecuting Authority says the matter was concluded in the KwaBhaca (formerly Mount Frere) Regional Court on Tuesday.
NPA regional spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, said Nogcantsi, was also sentenced to five years on a charge of kidnapping which will run concurrently with the 15-year term.
The court convicted him of raping the woman on 9 January 2013, in a nearby forest in the district of Ntabankulu and then threatening to kill her and her family if she reported the matter.
Tyali said the woman managed to escape the policeman's clutches by jumping from his speeding vehicle and breaking her arm in the process.
He said there was a strong police presence in court "as information was intercepted that there was a plan by his friends to snatch him from the court."
Tyali said the matter was finalised on Tuesday, after nearly ten years due "to the delaying tactics" of the accused which included the original docket going missing. "The court record and charge sheet also went missing but the Prosecutor had kept a backup."
He said the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, praised the Prosecutor and investigating team for their resilience, saying "were it not for their pure zeal to ensure that justice is served, this conviction and sentence would not have been secured.”
