Durban serial rapist linked to 14 incidents behind bars after court appearance

The KwaZulu-Natal Community Safety and Liaison Department holds a placard protest outside the Durban Magistrate's Court on Monday. Premier Thami Ntuli also attended the first court appearance of a suspected serial rapist.

The Durban Magistrate's has remanded into police custody a suspected serial rapist linked to 14 cases in Cato Manor at his appearance on Monday.

The court ordered that the 46-year-old man not be named because of the charges he faces. He will return to court on September 28.

The man was arrested on Thursday by police from the Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation (SECI) and Investigative Psychology Unit (IPU) which are within the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS). He has been charged for multiple incidents of rape, house breaking and attempted murder.

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the offences may date back to 2014 , and between that year and 2025 the man had allegedly raped 14 women in Cato Manor. Police alleged that the man also raped a woman in the Pietermaritzburg district.

"The man operated mostly at night, and his modus operandi was to follow women of different ages from taverns to their homes where he reportedly raped them and robbed them of their belongings. In some instances, the suspect allegedly broke into houses and raped his victims at knifepoint, especially vulnerable women who were staying alone."

Netshiunda said the victims could not identify their attacker because he disguised his face by wearing a pantyhose over his head. However, police detectives and investigators from the specialised units connected the dots, established a modus operandi, and linked the man to the attacks through DNA.

KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli attended the court appearance to highlight the government’s commitment to supporting efforts to combat gender-based violence and ensuring that cases of serious and violent crime are brought before the courts. Ntuli commended the police for the arrest.

“The arrest demonstrates the importance of professional, intelligence-led and evidence-based policing, particularly in cases involving violence against women. Their work demonstrates what is possible when investigators pursue evidence relentlessly and use specialised policing capabilities to protect our communities,” he said.

Ntuli added that the arrest comes during an exceptionally painful period for the country, in which the discovery of the bodies of women in Gauteng has once again confronted South Africans with the devastating reality of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

“This has been a week of shame for our nation. We have seen the bodies of women discovered and families plunged into unimaginable grief. We cannot allow such horror to become normalised. Every woman whose life is cut short is a human life lost, a family devastated and a community wounded,” he said.

The Premier said the latest arrest reinforces the meaning of the provincial campaign 'Silwa Nechilo' — we fight the shame — as a call for collective action against violence directed at women and children.

“'Silwa Nechilo'" is not a slogan; it is a commitment.