KZN police arrest 36-year-old suspected serial rapist linked to 14 alleged attacks

KwaZulu-Natal police have arrested a 36-year-old man believed to be a serial rapist linked to 14 alleged rapes, authorities said on Sunday.

Arrest and charges

Detectives from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit in Ulundi detained the suspect. He is expected to face 14 counts of rape, the provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, told reporters.

Alleged offence pattern and locations

According to Netshiunda, the suspected offences began in Mahlabathini in January 2010. Police said the suspect was arrested in 2010, released on bail, and later absconded from court, prompting a warrant for his arrest.

While out on bail, he is alleged to have committed further rapes in several areas. Netshiunda said the suspect allegedly raped:

• seven women in Pongola;
• four women in Primrose and Germiston in Gauteng province;
• one woman in Paulpietersburg policing precinct; and
• one woman in Magudu policing precinct.

Modus operandi and evidence

Police described the suspect’s modus operandi as targeting women who were staying alone. He would gain entry by breaking a window or a door and then threaten the victims with a knife, Netshiunda said.

Netshiunda also said that during the 2010 arrest police collected evidence and linked him to the cases through DNA analysis.

Court appearance

The suspect will appear in the Mahlabathini Magistrate’s Court on Monday, September 21, 2026, for his 2010 failure to appear in court. Netshiunda said that after that appearance he will be formally charged in the remaining rape matters.

“Police closed in on him, and he was arrested; however, he was released on bail. He absconded from court, and a warrant of his arrest was issued,”

Netshiunda provided the account of the arrests, alleged offences and evidence collection.