Ndou v The State

The appellant, Edson Ndou, was convicted in the regional court of raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter. The offence occurred at night while the complainant was sleeping in a bedroom with her younger sisters. The appellant, who was intoxicated, entered the room and had sexual intercourse with her without violence or the use of a weapon. Evidence revealed that this was not the first occasion on which sexual intercourse had occurred, and that on a prior occasion the appellant had given the complainant money and gifts and threatened her to ensure silence. The matter was referred to the Limpopo High Court for sentencing under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997, where the appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment in terms of s 51(1).

The appeal against sentence was upheld. The sentence of life imprisonment was set aside and replaced with a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, antedated to 5 May 2004.

The case reinforces appellate oversight over sentencing under South Africa’s minimum sentence regime and affirms that prescribed sentences are not mandatory where they would be disproportionate. It underscores the continued relevance of judicial discretion and proportionality in sentencing, even for serious offences such as the rape of a minor.