A 50-year-old Zimbabwean pastor was given two life sentences and 30 years for rape and murder on Tuesday by the Mahikeng high court in the North West. Henry Mamothame, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, reported that Lucas Chauke was also discovered to be a Zimbabwean national who was unlawfully present in the nation. He committed his crimes in the Pretoria suburb of Hammanskraal.
Mamothame claimed that the 53-year-old woman who Chauke raped in Temba in May 2017 was his first victim. He was a local pastor, so he was familiar with the woman. Chauke, pretending to help the woman’s spirituality, took her to a secluded area, “Upon arrival, he repeatedly raped her and subsequently tied her to a tree, before fleeing the scene. After a while she managed to untie herself and ran to ask for help. She managed to report the incident to the police, who started searching for the suspect,” Mamothame said.
For this rape, he received a life sentence. In May 2018, Chauke took a 55-year-old woman to the same distant area and sexually assaulted her there. He left the scene after tying her to a tree. “Her decomposed body was later discovered still tied to the tree. He was sentenced to life for murder and a further 15 years for rape,” Mamothame said. In August 2018, Chauke brought a second woman, 55, to the same location and made an apparent attempt to rape her. He then left her to die after tying her to a tree. Mamothame said that he received a 15-year prison term for murder. DNA connections between Chauke and the three incidents led to his arrest.
According to Mamothame, the prosecutor’s attorney, Benny Kalakgosi, pleaded with the court to adhere to the mandatory minimum punishment because the offenses were serious. Judge Frances Snyman agreed with the state and described Chauke’s actions as horrific. North West director of public prosecutions Rachel Makhari-Sekhaolelo lauded the prosecutor and the police for the successful conviction and sentence.
