Emotions ran high in the Mpumalanga high court during submissions in mitigation of sentence in the multiple murder case of Julius Mndawe, who is dubbed the “Masoyi Monster”, on Monday.
Relatives of the five victims burst into tears as state prosecutor Adv Zwelethu Matha read victim impact statements, detailing each of the deceased's lives and connection to their families.
The court had to adjourn as the relatives struggled to contain their emotions.
Matha started by lambasting Mndawe's defence lawyer, saying there was no sign that Mndawe was remorseful.
“Had the accused before this court not been caught through the hard work of the police, we would be hearing about more girls disappearing from his area. It took the police to arrest him that he now sees his actions as wrong. He didn't hand himself to the police until police caught him through a cellphone.
“Here, we are talking about five young women whose rights to life were cut off and their right to dignified burial was not given to their family as he buried then in his yard.
“This court needs to give the accused a sentence suitable for his deeds which will also serve as a warning to other men like him who might want to prey on young women and children like he did... We [are] asking this honourable court to give a life sentence for each premeditated murder charge and also give five years for each defeating the ends of justice charge,” said Matha.
On Friday, Mndawe was found guilty of killing Tokie Tlaka, 24, Banele Khoza, 15, Noxolo Mdluli, 17, Felicia Mdlovu, 17, and Nomthandazo Mdluli, 19, concealing their bodies between January 2018 and May 2019 by burying them in shallow graves in his yard in Masoyi, outside Hazyview.
He was arrested in July 2019, after the disappearance of Tlaka, and was linked to the crime through Facebook inboxes. He was also found in possession of the victim’s cellphone.
Matha said: “Abusers of women and children have no respect for human life, no respect for the body of another person...
“There's something wrong in our society. It seem as if most males who abuse women seem [to feel that they] have some divine power over women. Some of the families are trying to come to terms [with what happened] and burying their loved ones. Some families haven't even buried their loved ones.”
By the last statement, Matha was referring to Mdlovu and Mdluli whose bodies have not been released because of inconclusive DNA results.
Police have now sent samples to Switzerland.
Tlaka's sister Gladness Tlaka said in her victim impact statement that her sister had left behind a four-year-old child who lives in isolation.
“I'm still having the images in my head of my sister who was half burnt. I'm asking myself why my sister was killed. Maybe this man [Mndawe] can tell me what my sister's last words were,” the statement read.
Khoza was in Grade 9 when she was killed. According to her family, she was a bubbly child who liked to give her mother hugs each time she came back from school.
Mdluli's mother Thembisile said in her statement that her daughter wanted to be a nurse so that she could help her with her chest problem.
“My daughter was doing Grade 12. She would have finished [training] now and was going to be a nurse. Since she was killed, I now have high blood pressure and [I'm] taking medication because I'm thinking about her. She has not been buried as we speak and I'm asking myself what did my daughter do? Can this man tell me? Why would he not dump her on the streets so that we could find the body and bury her ourselves?”
Judge Denise Greyling-Coetzer asked Mndawe to turn to the families in the gallery and ask for forgiveness if he wished to do so but he refused.
When the state finished reading the victim impact statements Greyling-Coetzer postponed the sentencing proceedings to Thursday.
Relatives of Masoyi Monster's victims break down in court
Convicted serial killer refuses to ask families for forgiveness
Image: Mandla Khoza
Emotions ran high in the Mpumalanga high court during submissions in mitigation of sentence in the multiple murder case of Julius Mndawe, who is dubbed the “Masoyi Monster”, on Monday.
Relatives of the five victims burst into tears as state prosecutor Adv Zwelethu Matha read victim impact statements, detailing each of the deceased's lives and connection to their families.
The court had to adjourn as the relatives struggled to contain their emotions.
Matha started by lambasting Mndawe's defence lawyer, saying there was no sign that Mndawe was remorseful.
“Had the accused before this court not been caught through the hard work of the police, we would be hearing about more girls disappearing from his area. It took the police to arrest him that he now sees his actions as wrong. He didn't hand himself to the police until police caught him through a cellphone.
“Here, we are talking about five young women whose rights to life were cut off and their right to dignified burial was not given to their family as he buried then in his yard.
“This court needs to give the accused a sentence suitable for his deeds which will also serve as a warning to other men like him who might want to prey on young women and children like he did... We [are] asking this honourable court to give a life sentence for each premeditated murder charge and also give five years for each defeating the ends of justice charge,” said Matha.
On Friday, Mndawe was found guilty of killing Tokie Tlaka, 24, Banele Khoza, 15, Noxolo Mdluli, 17, Felicia Mdlovu, 17, and Nomthandazo Mdluli, 19, concealing their bodies between January 2018 and May 2019 by burying them in shallow graves in his yard in Masoyi, outside Hazyview.
He was arrested in July 2019, after the disappearance of Tlaka, and was linked to the crime through Facebook inboxes. He was also found in possession of the victim’s cellphone.
Matha said: “Abusers of women and children have no respect for human life, no respect for the body of another person...
“There's something wrong in our society. It seem as if most males who abuse women seem [to feel that they] have some divine power over women. Some of the families are trying to come to terms [with what happened] and burying their loved ones. Some families haven't even buried their loved ones.”
By the last statement, Matha was referring to Mdlovu and Mdluli whose bodies have not been released because of inconclusive DNA results.
Police have now sent samples to Switzerland.
Tlaka's sister Gladness Tlaka said in her victim impact statement that her sister had left behind a four-year-old child who lives in isolation.
“I'm still having the images in my head of my sister who was half burnt. I'm asking myself why my sister was killed. Maybe this man [Mndawe] can tell me what my sister's last words were,” the statement read.
Khoza was in Grade 9 when she was killed. According to her family, she was a bubbly child who liked to give her mother hugs each time she came back from school.
Mdluli's mother Thembisile said in her statement that her daughter wanted to be a nurse so that she could help her with her chest problem.
“My daughter was doing Grade 12. She would have finished [training] now and was going to be a nurse. Since she was killed, I now have high blood pressure and [I'm] taking medication because I'm thinking about her. She has not been buried as we speak and I'm asking myself what did my daughter do? Can this man tell me? Why would he not dump her on the streets so that we could find the body and bury her ourselves?”
Judge Denise Greyling-Coetzer asked Mndawe to turn to the families in the gallery and ask for forgiveness if he wished to do so but he refused.
When the state finished reading the victim impact statements Greyling-Coetzer postponed the sentencing proceedings to Thursday.
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