Johannesburg - Police have opened an inquest docket after a man accused of raping 34 children and two women committed suicide in his prison cell, a prison official said on Thursday.
“The Mondeor police are investigating following his death in his cell. He was staying in a single cell, as he was a high risk offender,” said Gauteng correctional services spokesman Ofentswe Morwane.
Sifiso Makhubu, 42, was to have appeared on 122 charges in the High Court in Johannesburg, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court, on Thursday.
However, he hanged himself with a piece of blanket on Wednesday night. He was being held at Johannesburg prison, also known as Sun City.
“Prison officials found him hanging in his cell this morning (Thursday) when they went to fetch him to take him to court,” said Morwane
The charges he faced included rape, kidnapping, murder, robbery, and attempted murder by infecting his victims with HIV. The crimes took place in the Kathorus area, in Vosloorus, during 2006.
He was arrested in 2011. - Sapa