“Sugarcane” serial killer Thozamile Taki was handed 13 life sentences and 208 years in prison by the Durban High Court on Wednesday. Taki, 39, was convicted by Judge King Ndlovu in December last year of 13 murders and robbery with aggravating circumstances. The charges related to the murders of women whose bodies were dumped in sugar-cane and tea plantations at Umzinto on the South Coast and in the Eastern Cape in 2007.
Judge Ndlovu said although the State had relied on circumstantial evidence, its witnesses had been credible and honest, while Taki had lied about his alibi. Taki’s former girlfriend, Hlengiwe Nene, who was arrested as an accessory to the robberies, was acquitted of all charges.
The victims, all young women, were lured to their deaths with the promise of lucrative job opportunities at companies on the South Coast.
Taki stole cash, cellphones and clothing before he strangled the women. Their bodies were found by workers at the plantations. - The Mercury and Sapa