A Gauteng taxi driver, who was previously convicted of 43 rape and kidnapping charges in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, is to be sentenced next month for a separate case before the Roodepoort Regional Court.

In the case in Roodepoort on Wednesday, Lebogang Gift Mokoena's sentencing was postponed to November 2. He is to be sentenced for one charge of kidnapping, one of rape and two of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

He was convicted after he pleaded guilty to the charges on March 19, 2017, after he and his friend accosted a female passenger who had been travelling with her teenage son along Ontdekkers Road in Florida, west of Johannesburg.

Similar modus operandi

Using the same modus operandi he had used in other cases, Mokoena kidnapped the two and raped the woman inside a Toyota Quantum minibus taxi while his friend drove it.

The woman was raped in the presence of her son. After the incident, Mokoena robbed them of their belongings and demanded the woman's PIN code for her bank card.

The accused then withdrew R19 000 from the bank account, which was spent on alcohol and groceries.

However, Magistrate Ruby Matthys postponed the sentencing portion of the case to give a social worker time to complete a pre-sentencing report.

Mokoena, 28, appeared calm on Wednesday and wore the same clothes he had worn earlier this month when he appeared in the case in the high court, sitting in Palm Ridge.

He used his hands to cover his face as he waited for his name to be called and at times, he smiled and chatted to court orderlies. this was unlike his demeanour during his high court appearance on October 15 when he cried after being convicted of the 43 charges. At the time, he even threatened to commit suicide.

More woes for Mokoena

Earlier this month, Judge Cassim Moosa convicted Mokoena of 13 counts of rape, nine of kidnapping, nine of robbery with aggravating circumstances, nine of pointing an object that resembles a firearm, two of aiding and abetting someone to commit an offence and one of sexual assault.

During his guilty plea, Mokoena detailed how he separately kidnapped eight female passengers and raped and robbed them of their belongings including cash and cellphones.

Six victims were raped by Mokoena in a taxi which was driven by his "friend". On two occasions, Mokoena took the women to an open veld where he raped them.

Afterwards, Mokoena said he gave the survivors money to board a taxi home.

In some instances, he forced the women to hand over their bank PIN codes so he could withdraw money from their accounts.

Mokoena told the court he did not act alone while committing the offences but would not reveal the names and identity of the "friends" he claimed were with him at the time.

He went on a rampage for 13 months between September 26, 2016 and October 12, 2017 before he was nabbed by the police at a house in Molapo, Soweto on October 23, 2017.

He admitted that some of the victims pointed him out during an identity parade and that he was linked to the crimes through his DNA.

Mokoena claimed he pleaded guilty voluntarily because he didn't want to waste the court's time.

His sentencing in the South Gauteng High Court is expected to begin on November 5.