Court upholds conviction of landlord who organised gang rape of Zimbabwean tenant

A Bloemfontein landlord’s conviction for encouraging the gang rape of her Zimbabwean tenant has been confirmed on appeal, but her life sentence was reduced to 12 years’ imprisonment.

Appeal court upholds conviction

The Free State High Court dismissed the appeal against conviction of Nyaleng Taaibosch, finding that her conduct made her an accomplice to the rape. Taaibosch had been convicted alongside Shuping Sydney Gopane after a trial court concluded she encouraged two men to rape and kill the complainant, who had been renting from her.

What the court found

The appeal court said Taaibosch’s words and actions supported an inference that she intended to facilitate the sexual assault. The judgment recorded that Taaibosch told the men the complainant was a foreigner and said they could do as they wished, and that they should:

“teach her” about Bloemfontein, and when they were done, they could kill her.

The court found those words, together with what happened immediately afterwards, indicated an intention that the complainant be raped and that Taaibosch at least foresaw the possibility of rape and accepted that risk.

Attack and escape

The incident occurred in October 2008. The complainant, who was 29 at the time, had been renting at Taaibosch’s house for a few months. On the night in question she and Taaibosch’s seven-year-old daughter had returned to the house after getting their hair braided and found Taaibosch with her boyfriend and others inside.

The judgment states that Taaibosch pointed the complainant out to the men before leaving the house with her daughter and other occupants, locking the door from outside and leaving the complainant with two men. The two men slapped the complainant, forced her to undress, and repeatedly penetrated her anally and vaginally. She was also burned with cigarette stubs and threatened with a knife.

At one point the complainant asked for a glass of water and was told to drink in the kitchen. She managed to open a window and escape almost half naked, running to a friend’s house where she had earlier been getting her hair braided.

Sentencing and factors

While the court confirmed the conviction, it found that Taaibosch’s sentence required reconsideration because she was not present when the rape took place and did not personally inflict the complainant’s injuries. The court held those circumstances amounted to substantial and compelling circumstances justifying a departure from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The High Court replaced the life sentence with 12 years’ imprisonment, antedated to June 2016.

Aggravating aspects and personal circumstances

The judgment described Taaibosch’s conduct as a xenophobic attack, which was treated as a severe aggravating factor because the complainant was from Zimbabwe. The court also noted the physical and emotional harm suffered by the complainant.

The record shows Taaibosch was 54 at the time of the sentencing proceedings, a widow with four children (one a minor), worked as a domestic worker earning R850 a month, and was a first offender.

Arrests

The judgment notes that Taaibosch and only one of the two men involved were arrested.