As the country observes 16 Days Activism of No Violence against Women and Children, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard chilling details of how a 22-year-old rapist brutally raped and killed a four-year-old girl.
On Monday, Judge ZP Nkosi sentenced Songezo Mpulampula to two terms of life imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to the September 2023, rape and murder of a four-year-old old child in the Harding area.
In his plea handed in by legal aid attorney Sicelo Nyandu, Mpulampula said he had lived in the same area as the victim.
On the evening of September 8, Mpulampula said he was returning from the tavern after having drinking with certain girls.
He said he went to a friend’s home in the area to get something to eat and saw the deceased having a meal.
After eating, he approached the deceased and asked her to go play outside the house with him.
“When we were outside, I took her to an abandoned toilet.”
Mpulampula details how he undressed and brutally raped the girl.
He said after raping her, he strangled her until she became still.
“I got dressed, I took the plastic bag that was on the toilet floor and lit it with the matches that I was carrying.
“I directed the drops of the burning plastic onto her body. As a result, her body sustained burnt injuries.”
Mpulampula said police arrested him a few days after the murder.
“I admit that even though I consumed alcohol on the day in question and I was intoxicated, I was nevertheless still able to differentiate between right and wrong, and thus act accordingly.”
He said he was remorseful for his actions.
In a victim impact statement handed to the court by Senior State advocate Pretty-Girl Ngcobo, the girl’s mother described the pain of losing her first born child.
She described her daughter as a bubbly girl who was full of life and happiness.
“Whenever I see children of her age, I feel sad and emotional because the image of my daughter always come to my head.”
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said as the country observes the 16 Days of Activism campaign, they hope that sentences of this nature demonstrate the NPA’s efforts to fight for justice on behalf of the victims of crime.
IOL News