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
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
![Uyinene Mrwetyana [left], was brutally raped and murdered by Luyanda Botha [right] 1](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Uyinene-Mrwetyana-left-was-brutally-raped-and-murdered-by-Luyanda-Botha-right-1.jpg?resize=620%2C485&ssl=1)
Man who murdered and raped South African college student sentenced to life: Uyinene Mrwetyana [left], 19, was brutally raped and murdered by 42-year-old postal worker Luyanda Botha, [right], after she ignored his sexual advances
The savage killing of Uyinene Mrwetyana, 19, made huge headlines across South Africa leading to nationwide protests by women’s rights activists against the increasing femicide.
Tens of thousands of women went on protest marches across the country demanding a stop to gender based violence and an end to the rape and murder of young girls and women.
Cape Town High Court heard that post office worker Luyanda Botha, 42, first crossed paths with his victim two weeks earlier when Mrwetyana had gone to the post office to inquire if a clothes package she had ordered had arrived.
The victim first crossed paths with her killer two weeks earlier when Mrwetyana [photo], had gone to the post office inquire about a package of clothes she’d ordered
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’.
The 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
The victim 19-year-old Uyinene Mrwetyana [photo], was a first year film and media student at the University of Cape Town. Botha’s senseless act in assaulting and killing her sparked nation-wide protests to ensure the case was giving due prominence
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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Memorial to murdered teen outside post office in Cape Town, south Africa: The crime scene has since been turned into a shrine to the memory of Uyinene
Postal worker Luyanda Botha has been jailed for life after admitting he raped and killed UCT student Uyinene ‘Nene’ Mrwetyana [L-R]. The teen had gone to collect a package but was told to come back later and found the suspect alone
Tens of thousands of people went on protest marches across South Africa demanding a stop femicide after the murder
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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