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Brute bags three life sentences for the savage rape and murder of South African student inside a post office in South Africa – Postal worker Luyanda Botha, 42, admitted he was intent on ‘raping and killing’ Uyinene Mrwetyana, 19, after she rebuffed him

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Uyinene Mrwetyana, 19, was assaulted and killed by 42-year-old postal employee Luyanda Botha, on Aug 24  in Cape Town
Her killing sparked thousands to protest gender based violence in South Africa
Botha has been jailed life after admitting he battered the teen to death with a 2lb weight from the post office scale, after sexually assaulting her twice

Once they were alone inside the post office, Botha made sexual advances which the teen rebuffed before he attacked her.
He battered her into submission then raped her twice. Finally he killed her by smashing her skull with a 2lb weight from the post office scales. Done, he left her blood soaked body hidden under a blanket.
In his confession Botha admitted making sexual advances towards the student but said she did not respond and looked ‘scared’.


He said: ‘I grabbed her by the waist and forcibly pulled her closer to me. The deceased fought while I sexually violated her. She managed to run to the door but I caught her and knocked her to the ground’.
He then dragged her to the post office safe and locked her inside where she began screaming, Botha testified.
He said: ‘I opened it and choked the deceased and she fought back and kicked me’. 

Luyanda Botha 2.JPGThe defendant Luyanda Botha, [photo] admitted he battered Uyinene Mrwetyana into submission then raped her twice, before he killed her by caving in her skull with a 2lb weight from the post office scales


In his chilling court admission, Botha confessed using the 2lb weight to kill her targeting her head and then left the post office to go drinking and returned to cover her body with a blanket.
next day, he cleaned up the blood in the post office.
Under cover of darkness, he moved the body in a large postal mail bag to his car
He attempted to dispose of the body by burning and dumped it 15 miles away,  on the outskirts of a township where he lived.
He was arrested by police days later. Botha made a full confession and led police to where he had left her body. In his admission Botha said: ‘I am liable of my intentions as I intended to rape and murder’.
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Murder of teen who was lured into post office in Cape Town, SA, raped and beaten to death with a set of scales sparks huge protests Tens of thousands gathered outside […]

Uyinene Mrwetyana was a first year film and media student at the University of Cape Town. At today’s sentencing judge Salients-Hlophie to the victim‘s family who were in court: ‘She fought bravely and courageously. This was indeed a heinous and cruel act and crime. No sentence can bring back you loved one.

‘It may be cold comfort for you today, but she was a fighter and clearly had a fighting spirit for her life, and will be remembered as a hero and an iconic champion in the fight to end gender based violence’.
according to the terms of Botha’s plea agreement he received a life sentence for murder and two life sentences for the two counts of rape and five years for trying to dispose of her body.


He would not be eligible to apply for parole after serving a minimum of 25 years.
More than 20,000 people are murdered and over 40,000 raped a year in South Africa with the latest police statistics showing a woman or girl is murdered every three hours in the troubled country.

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