I went to brothels for sex - accused

Johannesburg - She felt a brick smashing against her head. While still dazed and confused, a hail of punches landed on her face, leaving her legs wobbly.

Her attacker then dragged her to the side of Malibongwe Drive in Muldersdrift, where he raped and robbed her of a cellphone and the R2 000 of the stokvel money she had in her purse.

“He loosened my belt, pulled down my pants and raped me,” the woman told the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old woman was testifying in the trial of a man accused of preying on women around the Muldersdrift area between March 2009 and March last year.

Tebogo Phiri is alleged to have carried out the attacks early in the mornings when the women were waiting for transport to get to work, or in the evenings as they disembarked from taxis.

He also stole their personal belongings, such as cash and cellphones.

As the 26-year-old woman related her ordeal in court on Wednesday, Phiri stared directly into her eyes, his hands folded before him.

The woman told the court she had just alighted from a taxi from the Northgate Mall when her attacker struck.

“I was crossing the road… then I felt a blow on my head as if I was being hit by a brick. The person started punching me on the face with his fists. He then raped me,” said the woman.

Another woman who appeared to be in her forties told the court she was jogging as she usually does in the mornings when Phiri allegedly struck.

She said Phiri threatened to shoot her but never produced any firearm.

One of the women was raped twice in one day while the other woman was raped by a man who had been accompanying Phiri after the alleged rapist had raped her.

In his defence, Phiri claims he would never have resorted to rape to satisfy his sexual urges. He told the court that whenever he felt like having sex, he went to a brothel in Randburg, where he paid sex workers R100 for each session.

The trial, which involves a total of 18 charges comprising the rapes and aggravated robbery charges, continues.

omphitlhetse.mooki@inl.co.za

The Star