Pretoria - A convicted Mpumalanga serial killer has been sentenced to a total of 150 years behind bars for crimes including murdering five women.
The 24 year-old Julius Mndawe was sentenced in the Mpumalanga High Court after being arrested in early July, 2019 after one of his victims was reported missing and her cellphone traced and found in his possession.
Speaking to Pretoria News yesterday, SAPS provincial spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the women were killed and their bodies uncovered in Masoyi, outside White River.
He said: “These inhumane events were uncovered at Masoyi in 2019.
“The convict murdered five women and buried them in his yard, and the court reached its decision to sentence Mndawe after hearing how he robbed, raped and murdered his victims between 2018 and 2019.
“He was very cruel because he would burn all his victims after killing them. The five defenceless women, aged between 15 and 24, would then be buried in the yard of his residence in Numbi (near White River) as an attempt to conceal his evil deeds. Mndawe then continued with life as if nothing happened.” The court heard that Mndawe confessed that one of his victims was killed and buried inside his room, while he killed others and buried them in his yard.
“Police went to his yard and conducted a search (and) dug up the yard. Five decomposed bodies of women were then discovered in the yard, and then he was charged with murder, obstruction of the administration of justice (as he concealed the bodies of the women), and rape.
“He pleaded guilty to all five counts of murder. The accused was sentenced to five life sentences, and for the five counts of obstruction of the administration of justice, the accused was sentenced to a total of 25 years (five years for each count).”
Mohlala said the sentences would not run concurrently, which meant Mndawe will be incarcerated for a total of 150 years. “The accused was further declared unfit to possess a firearm,” he said.
Provincial police commissioner in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, said she welcomed the hefty sentence handed down.
“We hope that the sentence will hopefully serve as a deterrent to those who might consider emulating the actions of the accused,” Manamela said.
Pretoria News