A SERIAL rapist who has been classified a “dangerous criminal” and has already spent 23 years behind bars, will have to wait another two years before he makes his next bid for parole.
Andre Gregory Mohamed's latest parole application ended unfavourably for him at the Durban Regional Court on Wednesday.
After considering all the submissions from experts and other witnesses, Magistrate Sharon Marks found that Mohamed was still a “dangerous criminal, posed a danger to the physical and mental well-being of people and “communities must be protected from him”.
She ruled that Mahomed be subjected to another indeterminate prison sentence (no defined period) and that he reappears on November 27, 2026 for another reconsideration of sentence hearing.
Marks said that he must be subjected to more sessions of psychotherapy on a monthly basis ahead of his next court appearance.
Mahomed, 54, raped 21 Durban women, mainly from the Morningside area during the late 1990’s before escaping from police custody and fleeing to Pretoria where he raped a further 22 women.
The trial for his Durban crimes concluded in 2001 when he was labelled a dangerous criminal, handed an indeterminate prison sentence and asked to return to court after 15 years for a sentencing reconsideration.
For his crimes in Pretoria, he was also declared a dangerous criminal and received a sum of 177 years of imprisonment but he challenged that ruling in the High Court.
He was then handed an indeterminate sentence and asked to reappear for reconsideration after 15 years.
The matters were eventually merged into one and handled in Durban by Marks.
He appeared before her for reconsideration in November 2017 and was unsuccessful and returned in September 2022.
Having undergone 30 sessions of psychotherapy, as per Marks’ previous ruling, his latest bid parole began earlier this year, with state prosecutor Val Melis leading evidence from various witnesses.
Marks said one of the reports she considered was that of Buhle Mkhize, the chairperson of the Parole Board, who said that Mahomed was subjected to various intervention programmes to address his criminal conduct and progress has been noted.
But Mkhize said she would let the court decide whether he would be released or not.
The doctor who conducted the 30 sessions of therapy said he showed some empathy towards his victims, but was not entirely honest about the gun he used when committing his crimes in Pretoria.
She was concerned how he would react if he was integrated into society and faced tense situations because anti-social behaviour, emotional deficits and the lack of empathy were chronic traits.
She said Mahomed required more sessions of therapy.
Melis said that Mahomed remained a dangerous criminal and should be handed another indeterminate sentence.
She also related how a Pretoria victim successfully sued the minister of police because he escaped from custody. When Mahomed attacked her she jumped from the third storey of building to escape from him and sustained crippling injuries as a result.
Melis also disagreed with the parole board that he qualified for parole.
Having considered all the evidence, Marks ruled that Mahomed was still a dangerous criminal and posed a risk to communities..
“Expert evidence has shown that he still presents a moderate to high risk to society, especially to women and cannot be released at this stage.
“As long as he poses a risk, society must be protected.”