IT HAS been an incredibly depressing and busy week for South Africa's courts. Brutal criminals were put away for their role in murders that shocked the nation and revealed the human being's capacity for cruelty.

The killer of Bianca Warburton, a University of the Witwatersrand psychology student, will spend the next 25 years in prison for murdering this budding young professional, who was also someone's daughter, wife, sister and friend.

While images of this arrogant murderer and the friends who helped him in the aftermath of the botched hijacking are enough to drive one into a fit of rage, there was also a gripping picture published by this paper. The picture of the mother of the perpetrator reaching out to the mother of the victim and apologising for her son's deeds, was moving.

The two women holding hands, and uniting in the face of this indescribable loss, revealed another aspect of the human condition and the society in which we live.

It said to me that though we are in the grip of a frightening wave of violence and hatred, there are people in our midst who challenge us to be better human beings by displaying such humility and generosity.

My head was spinning as I reflected on the paradoxes presented by the different pictures.

How could such a cowardly monster come from a woman who had so much grace and strength?

It was even more overwhelming and ironic for me that while the killer had no motive to hate Bianca, her grieving mother, Carolyn Muller, had every reason to hate him and his family but instead chose the opposite.

In reacting to the outcome of the trial she said she hoped the sentence would remind "future generations that we will overcome crime. We are not going to run away from this country. We are going to be a part of bringing this country back." Amen.

And then there was the case of the taxi driver in the murder of British tourist and new Swedish bride Anni Dewani.

Of course this matter is still ongoing but the conviction and sentencing of Zola Tongo brings no comfort. All it confirms is that this aspiring entrepreneur and father of six sold his soul and threw his life away for R1000.

I will not yet delve into the role of the husband, Shrien, because as tempting as it is he cannot be convicted on the basis of our speculation and Tongo's account. He must be tried so that we all have a better understanding of what really happened.

While this particular case is dominating international headlines, the story that stands out for me as being revolting and frightening is that of Mulalo Sivhidzho, who was convicted of killing her husband, Avhatakali Netshisaulu.

They were married for only a year. When was this evil seed planted in her heart and head?

I cannot describe my vexation when I watched her on television, wiping tears away. I was dying to know what those tears represented. Was she reflecting on the wrongness of her actions and regretting her role in wiping out a life that had so much to live for?

I doubt this was the case because she pleaded her innocence right till the end. Looking at her I suspect that she was crying because she had been caught and her evil ways had come back to bite.

The last straw was spotting the wedding ring she wore on her finger.

You might rightly argue that it was just a piece of jewelry but I would like to believe it is much more than that. It represents the sacred covenant into which she and her murdered husband entered.

How sickening that she could sit there, wearing this symbol while listening to the judge convicting her of murdering the man who gave her that ring. It was too indecent and vile.

As heavy as these occasions have been on the collective soul of the nation, here's to hoping that they teach us to become less tolerant of crime and criminals.

Here's hoping that through witnessing the damage caused by these nefarious deeds, we will learn and endeavour to be better wives, husbands, children and citizens.