A South African man, Luyanda Botha, has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal rape and murder of a female university student in the country.

He was convicted by a Western Cape High Court on Friday, November 15, 2019, after he was found guilty of the crime.

Luyanda Botha, who is 42 years of age, raped and killed 19-year-old, Uyinene Mrwetyana, who was a student at the University of Cape Town.

The convict was first charged for raping her twice before killing her on August 24.

They had first met two weeks earlier when she inquired about a package, he made advances towards her but he claims she didn’t respond and was scared. He later arranged to be alone with Mrwetyana in the locked Clareinch Post Office on the said day after telling the student her parcel was ready for pick up.

He admitted;

“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 up with her and knocked her to the ground, dragged her to the post office safe and locked her inside while she was still screaming.” “I choked the deceased and she fought back and kicked me.”

He added that he took a 2kg weight, used to weigh the packages received at the post office, and used it to kill her, targeting her head. He then hid her body in the post office’s safe and returned the next day to remove her body in a large postal mail bag in his car. At night, he drove to a field in Lingelethu West, Khayelitsha, and dumped her body in a shallow hole before setting it on fire.

The Judge presiding over the matter, Gayaat Salie-Hlophe gave Botha a life sentence for murder, two life sentences on both counts of rape, and five years for defeating the course of justice. The five-year sentence will run concurrently.

He will also not be eligible for parole for 25 years.

The killing of Uyinene Mrwetyana sparked large protests over the high levels of sexual violence against women in South Africa.

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