Cape Town – Police Minister Bheki Cele has handed over a Ministry Award to Western Cape detectives head Brigadier Vela Cele at the 7th SAPS National Excellence Awards in recognition for his team solving the case involving the disappearance and murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana.
The police team tracked down her rapist and killer, Luyanda Botha, on August 29 last year after the 19-year-old UCT student went missing on August 19 in Claremont.
It took just under three months for the National Prosecuting Authority to finalise the murder and rape trial and the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Rodney de Kock, committed his office to speedily solving such cases.
Last November, the man accused of Uyinene's murder was handed three life sentences.
Botha was charged with two counts of rape in addition to a murder charge, as well as one count of defeating the ends of justice.
The Post Office worker raped and murdered the UCT student at the Clareinch Post Office in Claremont in August.
The indictment handed in revealed that the deceased purchased clothes online and the parcel was due for collection at Clareinch Post Office.
She had made enquiries on August 8 and was assisted by the accused, who allegedly told Uyinene that the parcel was not ready for collection and that he would contact her when the parcel arrived.
According to the indictment: “The parcel arrived on August 16, 2019 and on Saturday, August 24, she arrived at the post office after it was closed for business. The accused was alone inside the post office and let her in. The deceased was not seen alive again."
The indictment further stated that Uyinene was raped twice, her body hidden inside the safe of the post office, and then later dumped and doused with an accelerant before being set alight.
Botha will not be eligible for parole until he has served at least 25 years.
His statement, parts of which were as read out in court, said: “I am liable for my actions. I intended to rape and kill.”
Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, described the murder as “callous” and “vicious”, adding that Uyinene had been “cut down in the prime of her life”.
The court also heard Botha had a previous conviction for robbery for which he had been given an eight-year sentence in 1999.
"The case was assigned to Constable GS Nkonki, who worked closely with Sergeant L Chetty (Social Crime)," the SAPS said in a statement.
"During the investigation, it was established that Uyinene was last seen visiting the Post Office at approximately 14:00 on the 24th August 2019.
"It was established that the last person who had seen Uyinene was a certain Luyanda Botha, an employee of the Post Office, who booked off sick.
"The matter was reported to Claremont SAPS and Captain CT Phillips and other detectives became involved, working together with Constable Nkonki.
"They started with a combined effort on tracing the missing student’s whereabouts by using technology, visiting a number of CCTV cameras on foot and making further enquiries.
"Constable Nkonki also communicated with surrounding metropole stations, his colleagues, other stations, visiting surrounding mortuaries until he learnt that a decomposed burnt body was found in Lingelethu-West and was at the Tygerberg Mortuary.
"Constable Nkonki and Captain Phillips managed to obtain blood from relatives of Uyinene for DNA comparison and a task team of Claremont detectives were formed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel GG Sheldon.
"Brigadier VJ Cele formed a provincial team to assist the Claremont Detectives Task Team in tracing the missing student.
"Under the overall command of Brigadier Cele, Luyanda Botha became the primary suspect and the hunt for him began.
"On 29 August, 2019, Sergeant HL Loggenberg, whilst driving around, spotted the suspect and arrested and detained him for questioning.
"The suspect indicated that he wanted to do a pointing out of the body of Uyinene and Lieutenant-Colonel B Ngxaki became involved and together with other members they finalised a successful pointing out.
"Lieutenant-Colonel BT Nonkula (who is a well experienced member in this field) was tasked together with Lieutenant-Colonel Ngxaki and Lieutenant-Colonel Nonkulu to take down Luyanda Botha’s confession of guilt.
"The combined efforts of all the members involved in the initial team, the detective team and provincial team ensured the solving of the case, which had a positive impact on Claremont SAPS and the members."