Sentencing of convicted rapist, human trafficker postponed to December

Sentencing of convicted rapist, human trafficker postponed to December By Ragel Maritz The Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda on Tuesday postponed the sentencing of a Xamdeboo farmer to 3 December, pending a forensic psychological assessment following a change to his legal team. Louis Lategan was convicted on six counts of trafficking in persons, five counts of rape, two counts of assault as a competent verdict on two of the rape counts, three counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to children, two counts of common assault on adult workers, one count of assaulting a child, as well as two counts of unlawful possession of more than 200 rounds of ammunition. The postponement follows Lategan’s appointment of advocate Annelene van den Heever, who also represents tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala in a separate criminal case. Lategan had previously been represented by advocate Gustav Joubert, whose mandate was terminated before sentencing proceedings could begin on 21 September. Sentencing was then scheduled for Monday, 12 October, but was postponed because Van der Heever had not yet arrived in Makhanda. The court proceedings were further delayed on Tuesday as Van der Heever still needed to consult with Lategan. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Nickie Turner requested that the forensic psychologist’s report be made available to the state at least 10 days before sentencing resumes on 3 December. Six women recruited as au pairs The case relates to six women Lategan recruited between 2020 and 2023 to work as au pairs on his farm, following the divorce from his wife in early 2020. According to evidence previously presented in court, Lategan advertised au pair positions on Facebook and later used an employment agency to recruit women to care for his two minor children during their visits to the farm. The state argued that the employment offers were used to bring the women to the farm, where they were sexually exploited. The women, aged between 18 and 21, had completed school but struggled to find employment. They travelled from as far as KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, after being offered salaries ranging from R5 000 to R30 000. Evidence presented during the trial indicated that the women were socially and economically vulnerable. It is alleged that Lategan gave the women alcoholic drinks suspected of containing a drug that left them extremely drowsy. Several complainants testified that they subsequently had little or no recollection of what had happened and later found themselves in circumstances they could not explain. According to the state’s case, Lategan told the women that they had initiated the sexual encounters. Lategan denied drugging the women and maintained that the sexual encounters were consensual. One of the six women who had worked on the farm died by suicide in February 2022, after another complainant helped her leave the farm in January of that year. Turner led the evidence of 24 witnesses, some of whom testified to physical abuse of farm workers with a broomstick and a sjambok. On another occasion, Lategan pushed a complainant’s head into a trough of water after accusing him of severing the head of a tortoise. Lategan handed himself over to police in Xamdeboo on 3 July 2023, accompanied by his attorney. He has remained in custody since, after being refused bail and losing a subsequent bail appeal. Previous arrest over alleged terror plot Lategan was previously arrested in connection with an alleged right-wing terrorist plot in 2012. According to a report by Sibuliso Duba, published by IOL on 16 September 2023, Lategan was 41 at the time and was the fifth person arrested in connection with an alleged conspiracy to assassinate then-president Jacob Zuma and other senior ANC officials during the party’s Mangaung conference in 2012. The charges of treason and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism against Lategan were subsequently withdrawn. The report says the state did not explain the decision.