Cracking cases involving serial rapists may seem like a daunting assignment, but to Sgt Molwantoa Rapakgadi it is just God’s work.
Rapakgadi, 48, works for Serial and Electronic Crimes Investigations (Seci), a unit under Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) in the SAPS.
In his work, Rapakgadi deals with people wanted by police who have five or more dockets. This means by the time the case dockets arrive at him, it has been years since the rape occurred.
He got involved in serial rapist investigations when he traced a group of men who were terrorising the community of Soshanguve in Tshwane. The group of suspects mainly broke into houses, robbed the occupants and raped women.
“Their modus operandi was to break into your house; when you wake up they shine a cellphone torch into your eyes and they instruct you to look down. You don’t see them. These guys were terrorising the community without being known. When people opened the case, they did not know that the suspects lived in the same area as them.
“They left fingerprints on the scenes,” Rapakgadi said.
The crimes were committed between 2009 and 2018 and Rapakgadi started tracing one man and ended up with six men involved in the same crime.
He arrested the first suspect for house robbery in 2015.
He was called to the robbery in Soshanguve and while waiting in his vehicle three men passed it and police managed to arrest one of them. When the man arrived in court the orderlies said to him: “Blessing, you are back?”
Blessing Mabeshu had given Rapakgadi the wrong name.
Rapakgadi then investigated and discovered that Mabeshu had been arrested in 2013 for house robbery and rape.
"They robbed a family and left for another house where they stole a Toyota Quantum. The owner of the Quantum called the car tracking company and police traced it to where they exchanged gunfire with the occupants."
Talent Nkala was shot dead while Mabeshu went through a trial and ultimately got deported to Zimbabwe before he came back to SA. In 2015, Rapakgadi arrested him.
It was at this time that Rapakgadi moved to the province where investigators worked with DNA, linking suspects to crimes committed in different parts of the country.
He eventually arrested all members of the gang who received sentences ranging from 261 years to 773 years in jail.
Rapakgadi said rape cases are unique from other crimes.
“Rape does not have a witness. It is rare that when someone gets raped, there can be a witness who says I was there. Rape does not happen in public. If the person does not know who raped her, it becomes difficult. You have to dig deep,” he said.
But he conceded that if he had been constantly confined to a police station he would not have cracked these cases.
“At the police station you have to focus on the docket in your area and not elsewhere. It is a different situation in province, I can go to another area and get dockets and be able to link the cases involving the same suspect,” Rapakgadi said.
He said a woman who survives the crime is the most crucial piece of information needed to nail the perpetrator.
“You have to try and get as much evidence as possible from the scene. Sometimes the suspect uses a pen to stab the victim. Look for evidence on the pen. Some people smoke, get evidence from the cigarette. You must try to get as much as possible on the scene crime,” Rapakgadi said.
He said his secret is to take his time when visiting survivors.
“I arrive there and talk, sometimes not even writing. I need to develop trust with the victim. She must see you as a human being. She was raped by a man and I'm a man."
Sometimes Rapakgadi visits the victims 10 years after the crime has been committed. At that stage, the woman has moved on, got married and in some cases never told her husband about the rape.
“Some women resist giving information because they were not treated well at the police station after the rape. But I must get information from this person. The only way to achieve that is to take time."
Investigating such cases also comes with risks.
One suspect who had 20 cases threatened to kill him. The suspect told Rapakgadi his home address, where his children attend school and even where he goes to church.
He even offered R30,000 for him to drop the case but Rapakgadi refused.
“We are working for God. If I make you happy, I am happy. We are all made in the image of God. When I look at you I must see God. If God is happy about what I am doing and that you are happy, he will bless me."
He described rapists as men who are sick. “These are not men who are desperate for sex. They have girlfriends and wives but still go and rape.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.