The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, sitting in Breyten, has sentenced 22-year-old Simphiwe Xolani Mkhwanazi to two life terms and an additional 105 years’ imprisonment for a string of horrific gender-based violence (GBV) and other violent crimes.
Mkhwanazi was convicted on ten charges, including two counts of kidnapping, four counts of rape, murder, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and defeating the administration of justice. The offences were committed between July 2021 and August 2023 in the Amersfoort and Daggakraal areas.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the authority “welcomes the sentence”.
The court heard that Mkhwanazi targeted vulnerable women, often late at night as they returned home from taverns. Armed with a knife, he would threaten his victims, force them into secluded areas, rape them, and rob them of their belongings, including cellphones, cash, and clothing.
The State revealed a deeply disturbing pattern of violence during his reign of terror, noting that “two victims were kidnapped, one was murdered and buried in a shallow grave, and another was raped in the presence of her family members.”
On 31 July 2021, a victim was walking home from a party in the China 1 Section of Amersfoort when she was approached by the accused, who was armed with a knife. He dragged her to nearby rocks, raped her, and robbed her of her sneakers valued at R1 500, a cellphone, and cash.
A week later, on 7 August 2021, Mkhwanazi entered a complainant’s home armed with a knife. He ordered the occupants to “cover themselves with a blanket before taking a young woman from the room.” He then “forced her to kneel and raped her in the presence of her family members,” before demanding cellphones and cash and fleeing the scene.
On 10 June 2023, another victim was walking home from a tavern when Mkhwanazi and an unidentified accomplice accosted her at knifepoint. She was dragged to an abandoned house, raped, and robbed of her cellphone. Although she did not know her attacker, she immediately reported the incident to the police.
Mkhwanazi’s crime spree culminated in the brutal murder of Ellen Dlamini in August 2023. Dlamini was socialising with other patrons at Etshanini Tavern in Daggakraal when she was approached by the accused, and “she was never seen alive again”. Her family reported her missing, and three days later, her body was discovered buried in a shallow grave.
During the investigation, police found Mkhwanazi asleep with blood-stained clothing next to him. DNA analysis conducted on the clothing matched that of the deceased. Buccal samples were also collected from the accused and subsequently linked him to the other offences.
During the trial, Mkhwanazi initially pleaded guilty and claimed that the sexual encounters were “consensual” alleging that he had “romantic relationships with the victims and that the deceased had been involved with his father”. He later changed his plea to not guilty, compelling the State to prove its case.
Senior State Advocate Themba Lusenga led evidence from the victims, eyewitnesses, and other witnesses whose testimony overwhelmingly implicated the accused. Their evidence was corroborated by DNA analysis linking Mkhwanazi to all the offences. Advocate Lusenga also presented the post-mortem report, which revealed that the deceased had sustained “multiple bruises to her face, neck, and forehead”.
Victim Impact Statements compiled by the victims and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Confidence Ntlemo were presented to the court. The statements detailed the “profound emotional and psychological trauma suffered by the victims”.
The court sentenced Mkhwanazi to five years’ imprisonment for each count of kidnapping, 20 years’ imprisonment for one count of rape, 15 years’ imprisonment for each of two counts of rape, life imprisonment for a further count of rape, life imprisonment for murder, five years’ imprisonment for defeating the administration of justice, and 20 years’ imprisonment for each count of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The court further ordered that Mkhwanazi’s name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders, declared him unfit to possess a firearm, and found him unsuitable to work with children.
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Siphesihle Buthelezi
iol.co.za
