Johannesburg - As a serial murderer and rapist descended to the cells beneath the Palm Ridge court, he told the sister of one of his victims:”I’ll come get you”.
But Thandeka Dlamini, while unnerved, told The Star this wasn’t the first time the convicted killer had threatened her and her family.
Thapelo Motseki was convicted three months ago by the high court sitting in Palm Ridge for the murder of three teenagers and a woman, and the rape of three of them.
Thembelihle Dlamini, his final victim, was just 16 years old when she was kidnapped in Doornkop in May 2014, raped in an empty yard and strangled.
Since the death of”Lihle”, the Dlamini family have spent years trying to recover from her loss, particularly Thandeka and her mother Gladys.
On Monday, the pre-sentencing reports were handed to Judge Mmonoa Teffo. A social worker suggested he could be rehabilitated, but another, compiled by Captain EA Myburgh of the SAPS Investigative Psychology Section, was damning.
By continuing to deny his crimes, Motseki had shown a lack of remorse and empathy that meant he was likely never to be rehabilitated, according to Myburgh.
“Serial murderers cannot be rehabilitated and will commit similar crimes again if ever released from prison,” the expert wrote.
For Thandeka, Motseki spending the rest of his life behind bars would be essential, as she claims he has threatened her before.
“He needs a life sentence. I don’t want another family to go through what we’ve gone through,” she said.
But the 29-year-old sister was not the only one on the receiving end of Motseki’s threats on Monday.
He shouted at his former girlfriend, who had testified against him.”I’m coming back in six months. I’m going to come out. There’s no DNA,” he told her, despite the fact that it was DNA evidence that secured several of the convictions against him.
It was Gladys who couldn’t withhold her sadness and anger, telling him from the court gallery that she hated him.
But Motseki was adamant he was innocent. “It’s not me, I’m sorry I’m not the one who killed your daughter,” he said to her.
The court was filled with relatives of the women Motseki had killed, with a series of victim-impact statements written by some of them submitted to the court in aggravation of sentence.
It will be up to Judge Teffo to decide on Tuesday morning if she will deviate from the minimum sentences Motseki faces for his crimes.
The Star