7 months ago
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A Tshwane man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering the daughter of a woman who was refusing his advances by stabbing the child 66 times.
The killer, Conwell Mongezi Chauke, was in a prayer group with the child's mother and he killed her because he was angry that the mother was not interested in being his lover.
Judge Jacobus Johannes Strijdom said Chauke had violated the child's constitutional right to life and that he was "merciless" when he stabbed her 66 times, which shows that he is a danger to society.
On December 29 2020, Khothatso Welhelmia Tshabalala's mother received a call from Chauke while she was still at work. The two were in a prayer group together.
According to Lumka Mahanjana, spokesperson for the Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority, the 34-year-old Chauke threatened the mother over the phone because she did not agree to meet him the previous day.
In the afternoon of that same day, Chauke — who lived in Lotus Gardens — went to Mamelodi East where the 11-year-old girl and her mother lived. Upon arrival, he found the child playing with her younger sister and a neighbour’s child outside their neighbour’s house, said Mahanjana.
"He then lured the child under the pretence that he wanted to collect his belongings from her home. When they got into her home, Chauke stabbed the child 66 times, covered her body with linen on her bed and fled the scene.
"When the neighbours could not find the child, they went to look for her at her house, where they found the body on her bed. Police were called and two days after the incident, on December 31 2020, Chauke handed himself over to the Lyttleton police station and has been in custody since."
Mahanjana said during the trial, Chauke denied kidnapping the child and only pleaded guilty to the charge of murder, attributing his actions to the anger he felt towards the mother of the child.
During mitigation of sentence, Chauke's lawyer asked the court to consider the three years he had spent in prison awaiting the finalisation of his trial.
In aggravation of sentence, however, the prosecutor — Adv Sipho Lalane — argued that even though Chauke pleaded guilty to the charge of murder, he did not show remorse.
Lalane said: “Chauke was convicted of a serious crime. He stabbed and killed a minor child who was defenseless, vulnerable and could not protect herself, because her mother did not agree to his pursuit of a love relationship.”
Lalani also handed in two victim impact statements where Tshabalala expressed that since her child was killed, she had not being psychologically well and that Chauke took away her best friend.
The child's sister mentioned that she is now always lonely because she did not have anyone to play with as the deceased was also a friend to her. She added that her school performance has declined after losing her sister.
When handing down the sentence, Strijdom said it was the court's responsibility to protect society from offenders like Chauke.
“The interest of justice outweighs his circumstances, therefore, the court found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence,” said Strijdom.
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