Durban - A 30-year-old woman was handed down a life sentence, on Tuesday, for raping her 10-year-old cousin in a rondavel in Eshowe in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

The Eshowe Regional Court convicted and sentenced the woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, after the court heard how she raped a boy at Maqhakaza area in August 2018.

Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane, a KZN police spokesperson, said that the woman was invited to a birthday party of the boys younger brother.

"After the party, family members, the victim and the accused went to sleep in a rondavel house. In the middle of the night, the accused was caught raping the boy inside the rondavel. When the boy was questioned about rape, he told his mother that he was raped twice before by the same accused," Zwane said

A case of rape was opened at Eshowe police station. An intensive investigation was conducted by the Eshowe Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit members.