Cape Town - A convicted rapist out on parole has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of mother of two, Juliet Haw, 43, who was tied up and stabbed to death in her Hermanus home on October 26 last year.
Zolani Victor Menziwa’s conviction has brought some relief to the Haw family with her brother Jonathan Haw saying they are satisfied with the sentence that was imposed in the Western Cape High Court last Tuesday.
He said that while the past year had been difficult, they were pleased that the person who robbed and killed his sister was brought to book.
He said the logistics involved in travelling to Cape Town for the three-week trial and sitting at arms-length from Menziwa had been tough.
“At least it’s over. The damage this man has done… I mean, my sister has two kids that are now left without a mother. He brutally murdered her,” Jonathan said.
Juliet’s mother, Beryl Haw, said: “Its horrendous: someone gets a life sentence, but, actually, her whole family got a life sentence.”
Acting Judge Louis Olivier sentenced Menziwa to life in prison for Juliet’s murder, 15 years for aggravated robbery and a further 15 years for the rape of another woman and seven years for the attempted rape of a third woman. While the various crimes were not related, they occurred between December 2010 and October 26 last year.
At the time of the crime spree, Menziwa was out on parole for a separate rape charge. He was sentenced to 10 years in 2001 for the rape of a Midrand woman. He was paroled in 2008.
Juliet’s father, Terry Haw, was alerted when she failed to collect her two sons, aged 10 and 12, at Hermanus Primary School. He went to her home to investigate why she was not answering her phone.
Arriving at his daughter’s home in the suburb of Voëlklip, he found the door was unlocked. He searched the house and found his daughter’s lifeless body tied up in the pantry.
The court heard that Juliet had agreed to employ Menziwa as a gardener that day.
Terry Haw contacted the police who established that her Nokia cellphone, HP laptop and an unspecified amount of money was stolen. Juliet’s cellphone was traced to Joburg and Menziwa was arrested on November 11.
Police said that Menziwa had confessed to the other crimes that happened around the time Juliet was killed.
On October 2 last year, he raped a Kraaifontein woman, who was also his landlady when he lived in Bloekombos.
Acting Judge Olivier found that he had forced himself on the woman.
Menziwa was also convicted of the attempted rape of a third woman in Gansbaai on December 24, 2010.
All the cases were linked to Menziwa. He was held in custody because he did not have a fixed address.
A day after her murder, Juliet’s close friend, Vanessa Alberts, said of Haw: “She was the most intelligent, gregarious, wonderful woman.
“And she was the most amazing mother. This is such a huge, huge loss. She struggled as a single mother, but was just getting her life on track.” Juliet’s sons are being raised by their father.
On October 26 last year, Juliet Haw, agreed to give a 38-year-old man a gardening job. Little did she know that he would kill her inside the pantry of her Hermanus home.
Family members became suspicious when Juliet did not collect her two sons, aged 10 and 12, at school that afternoon.
Her father, Terry Haw, was notified and called her but she did not answer.
He went to her home and, upon searching the place, made a gruesome discovery.
His 43-year-old daughter’s lifeless body was found inside the pantry.
She had been stabbed a number of times and her cellphone, laptop and cash had been stolen.
The cellphone was later traced to Joburg where Zolani Victor Menziwa was arrested on November 11 last year.
Menziwa was charged with Haw’s murder and held in custody because he did not have a fixed address.
He later confessed to police about an unrelated rape and attempted rape he had also committed.
On October 2 he had raped a woman in Kraaifontein and tried to rape another in Gansbaai.
Last Tuesday, Acting Western Cape High Court Judge Louis Olivier sentenced Menziwa to life imprisonment and 37 years in jail for the other crimes.
Menziwa had a previous conviction for rape and was sentenced in 2001 to 10 years in jail. After serving seven years, he was released on parole in 2008.
He was a parolee at the time Haw was killed and when the other offences were committed.
Menziwa will only be eligible for parole by 2037, after he has served 25 years in jail.
Cape Argus