Former SANDF member sentenced to life for rape, attempted murder

JOHANNESBURG - Former South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member Leon Santos Conga has been sentenced to life after being found guilty of rape and attempted murder. 

Conga failed to disclose his HIV status to his ex-girlfriend and infected her with the virus.

The Pretoria Magistrates Court convicted Conga of the crimes in June and sentenced him on Wednesday.

In delivering the sentence, Magistrate Fikiswa Ntlathi highlighted the devastating impact of Conga’s crimes on the complainant and found he had shown no remorse.

Ntlathi described his offences as serious in nature and prevalent.

She said it was clear from the victim impact statement submitted by the complainant, Antoinette Ndishishi, who has consented to be identified - that the offences had had a “devastating” and “disastrous” impact on her and that she had been left severely traumatised.

She also highlighted that there is currently no cure for HIV, meaning Ndishishi would have to learn to live with her condition for the rest of her life.

Ntlathi further said that as her partner, Conga had broken Ndishishi’s trust, and shown no remorse, pointing to Ndishishi’s evidence in aggravation of sentencing that when she had confronted him after her diagnosis, he had called her crazy and stupid.

He received 10 years for the attempted murder charge and life in prison for the rape charge, both of which are to run concurrently.