Hopetown sisters sentenced to life in prison for brutal rape

Northern Cape regional commissioner Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola and his management team have welcomed the Hopetown District Court’s life sentence handed down to two brothers for the brutal rape of a 31-year-old woman in Hopetown.

NORTHERN Cape regional commissioner Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola and his management team have welcomed the life sentence handed down by the Hopetown District Court to brothers Kobus and Abraham Syster, aged 25 and 31, for the brutal rape of a 31-year-old woman in Hopetown.

The court heard that on Jan. 2, 2024, two men broke into the victim’s home and took turns raping her while her boyfriend was asleep, according to state police spokesman Sergeant Timothy Sam. They then took the victim’s belongings and fled the scene.

The brothers pleaded guilty and were sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and an additional 12 months in prison for theft. Both sentences will run simultaneously. The court also declared the defendants ineligible to possess firearms and ordered their names to be placed on the National Sex Offender Registry.

Lieutenant General Otola praised the efforts of the prosecution, led by lawyer Nicola Van Niekerk, and the investigation team, led by Detective Sergeant Ricardo Kock, for their diligent work in securing the defendant’s life imprisonment. He emphasized that cooperation is 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’,” Otola said.