DURBAN - A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to six life terms in prison after being convicted of raping six women in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal, in 2022.
The Umzimkhulu Regional Court sentenced Tenes Hassan on 30 September.
Hassan was found guilty of breaking into homes where women were staying alone or with their children, demanding money and cellphones before raping them.
According to police, he mostly targeted his victims between 2am and 3am.
The Kokstad Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit linked Hassan to all six cases through DNA evidence.
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In addition to the six life sentences for rape, Hassan was sentenced to eight years in prison for housebreaking.
In a separate case, the same court sentenced a 45-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping his five-year-old niece.
The incident happened in the Gowan Lea policing precinct on 28 December 2025.
Police said the child was playing at a neighbour’s house when her uncle called her to his home.
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Her brother followed them, but the uncle allegedly chased him away before raping the child.
The court also sentenced a 19-year-old woman to 20 years’ direct imprisonment after she was convicted of raping her nine-year-old neighbour in the Ibisi area.
The woman called the child to her room, where she instructed her to undress before sexually assaulting her with her fingers.
All three convicted offenders will have their names entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders.