A 35-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for raping and sodomising his estranged wife in Motherwell, Eastern Cape, the National Prosecuting Authority has said.

Zukile July was sentenced on Wednesday by the Port Elizabeth High Court, said regional spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani.

July was handed a life sentence for three counts of rape and three years for assault with grievous bodily harm.

Ngcakani said July and his then-30-year-old victim had attended a family gathering at a relative's house on 30 March 2018.

The acting Director for Public Prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, Livingstone Sakata, welcomed the hefty sentence.