The man charged with the murder and rape of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana was a loner, but his neighbour never thought he would commit such a heinous crime.

The 42-year-old man, who cannot be named because he has not yet pleaded to a sexual offence charge, was described by his neighbour as a soft-spoken church-loving man with a small body frame who often kept to himself.

The man, who is said to have confessed to the killing and rape this week, lived alone after his wife and daughter left his one-bedroom Khayelitsha home in Cape Town.

Mawethu Mgojo said the man moved into the area with his wife and newborn daughter in 2017.

He said he had lived alone for about a year and was very humble and generous. "I've never seen him with another woman since his wife left him around this time last year.

"When I didn't have a car, this guy would offer me his own car to fetch my mother."

Mgojo yesterday expressed his dismay and disappointment after it had emerged that his neighbour had confessed to the crimes. "Not in a million years would I have suspected him in any way.

"He is one guy who kept to himself. Soft-spoken. Even today, I am in disbelief. I trusted him with my life and my sisters," Mgojo told Sowetan.