MASERU — A 65-year-old woman has her head-butting skills to thank for fending off a rape attempt by a man old enough to be her son.
’Makemelo Mokiba of Qeme Ha Mpo knocked down a 26-year-old Moorosi Mpitso on the night of March 28 with a powerful head-butt , forcing him to flee.
Mpitso will now spend the next seven years behind bars after pleading guilty to housebreaking and theft and sexual offences when he appeared at the Maseru Magistrate’s Court this week.
The court heard that Mokiba was asleep when she heard the sound of breaking glass.
Waking up to investigate the source of the sound, she came face to face with Mpitso who strangled her and demanded sex.
“When I got to the sitting room, I looked outside and saw military boots and lebetlela (a stick) on the stoep. I then went to the kitchen to check and that’s when I met a man who strangled me,” Mokiba told the court.
A brave Mokiba fought back pushing Mpitso down to the floor.
She then head-butted him, sending him back to the floor when he tried to fight back, the court heard.
“My cell phone fell to the floor while we were still struggling and he grabbed it, insulted me, and ran off with it. I then realised that there was blood dripping from my head,” she said.
Mokiba said two male neighbours responded to her scream for help but Mpitso had already fled.
The men however found a grey cap in the house which they recognised as belonging to one of the herd boys in the village.
Mokiba’s neighbours went to Mpitso’s employer who verified that the cap was indeed his employee’s.
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In mitigation, Mpitso asked the court to be lenient as he was looking after his paralysed mother following the death of his father.
Magistrate Teboho Thoso sentenced him to eight years imprisonment without the option of a fine for the sexual offence.
Two years were suspended on condition that he did not commit a similar offence within three years.
On the house-breaking and theft count, Mpitso received a two-year imprisonment sentence.
The magistrate suspended one year of the sentence on condition Mpitso does not commit a similar offence within the next two years.
Molemohi Ndebele prosecuted.