Sonwabile Dlomo goes beyond the call of duty to convict a serial rapist

In a year in which the South African Police Service came under unprecedented scrutiny and criticism, warrant officer Sonwabile Dlomo, a detective in the Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations Unit in Zwelitsha, East London, worked without pause to bring one of the province’s worst serial rapists to book.

Dlomo, who joined the service 19 years ago, said he always wanted to become a police officer. He has been within the family violence, child protection and sexual offences environment since 2010.

To date, Dlomo has secured 23 life terms and 594 years for 16 rapists who are now behind bars.

In June 2024, the Makhanda High Court sentenced Lesotho national Glass Lechesa to six life terms and an additional 125 years’ imprisonment on multiple counts of rape, robbery with aggravated circumstances and common robbery. Lechesa conducted a reign of terror between October 2015 and December 2022 in Joubertina and Addo in the Eastern Cape, with five of his victims being between the ages of 14 and 17 years old.

According to papers before court he would hide his face with a balaclava and use a knife and a firearm to threaten his victims.

His victims included a pregnant woman, whom he threatened with a bush knife. He also punched her in the face.

Initially there was a year between his attacks and then the time became shorter and shorter. He also moved to Addo after the first few attacks.

He was arrested after one of his victims spotted him walking down the street and notified her sister, who called the police.

Dlomo started with 10 cases but soon his research found that there were three more dockets at the Addo police station that showed a similar modus operandi. He started tracing the activities of the suspect between attacks and this led to the suspect finally being convicted.

Dlomo said as a Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations Unit investigator, his duties include the investigation of serial rape cases as well as sexual crimes committed on electronic mediums, such as the possession, distribution and manufacturing of child pornography.

“In most of my cases the suspects are unknown, at first. My goal is always to go beyond the call of duty to trace and arrest these suspects to ensure justice prevails for the victims,” said Dlomo.

Never fear when warrant officer Sonwabile Dlomo is near – he will stop at nothing to put more sexual predators behind bars, helping ensure a safer and secure environment for all. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.