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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent—
A PLUMTREE serial criminal, 24, allegedly raped a Grade Seven pupil and his best friend’s mother, 42, then assaulted and tried to strangle them in separate occasions. Limukani Sibanda who was hiding in Madlambuzi area after committing other crimes in the border town, reportedly committed the heinous crimes in a space of an hour on Tuesday morning. He had been living in Madlambuzi since September 26 as he is on the police wanted list for a series of crimes allegedly committed in Bulawayo, Plumtree and Mangwe. Police have launched a manhunt for him.
Villagers told Chronicle that Sibanda met the girl, a pupil at Tsukuru Primary School, while she was on her way to write her first public examination at around 7AM. He pulled her into a bush.
After raping the pupil he throttled her then fled, thinking she had died.
She was rescued by passersby who found her lying unconscious on the ground.
An hour later Sibanda met his best friend’s mother, and beat her up severely with a log on her head and body. He broke both her arms and fractured her skull.
Sibanda raped the woman whose body was a bloody mess and left her lying unconscious on the ground. He also stole R700 from her.
Chronicle caught up with the woman at Plumtree District Hospital where she is battling for life.
She told of the traumatic experience at the hands of “a boy she considered to be her son.”
“Limukani did a very terrible thing to me but I don’t know for what reason. He’s my son’s best friend and he’s also our neighbour and I view him as my own child. I’m now in terrible pain because of him and as you can see I cannot move my arms,” she said.
She said she met Sibanda on Tuesday morning while she was on her way to the shops to make some payments. She said he confronted her and belligerently asked about his friend’s whereabouts.
After the confrontation she proceeded to where she was going and Sibanda attacked her with a huge log.
She said he beat her on the head and all over the body until she could hardly move.
“Limukani then raped me until I fell unconscious. When he was assaulting me I tried to run away but he caught up with me. I woke up several hours later at a neighbour’s homestead. That was when I was rushed to the hospital and the matter was reported,” she said.
She said she thinks Sibanda left her assuming she was dead.
Villagers said Sibanda had a long criminal record.
“There’s a lot which Limukani has done. A few months back he burnt down his girlfriend’s bedroom hut. He found her with another man and became angry. The issue was resolved within the village and he was charged a beast which he has not even paid,” said his elder brother.
A villager who declined to be named citing fear of reprisals said: “In an incident which occurred last year he sold poisoned meat to people at Khandamhlophe village on purpose. About 40 survived death by a whisker as they had their stomachs pumped in hospital after eating the meat.”
Sibanda’s relatives said he was last seen at a neighbour’s house where he asked for a rope, which he claimed he wanted to use to pull a car.
“We just discovered Limukani is wanted by police as he recently stole about $100 from his uncle in Plumtree, which was rent money and fled to his rural home in Madlambuzi,” said a relative.
“On Saturday he broke into his uncle’s homestead and stole R50. He proceeded to his aunt’s home and stole R100,” said another relative, who added Sibanda was wanted for a rape case in Bulawayo.
Sibanda’s grandmother, Julia Nyathi, based in Plumtree expressed disappointment over her grandson’s actions.
Nyathi said she only learnt recently after he fled from the border town that her grandson owed many neighbours huge sums of money.
“This boy has broken my heart. He grew up under my care after his parents separated and he has now turned to be a hard core criminal. I’ve received a report that he raped two people who are our neighbours at our rural home. In addition to that a number of people are now telling me that he owes them money,” she said.
She said an evil spirit must have come over her grandson for him to act in the manner he does.
Online Reporter