A Limpopo man was on Tuesday sentenced to 25 years in jail for the brutal rape and murder of a three-year-old child.
Jeffrey Muronga pleaded guilty to charges of rape, murder, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice when he appeared at the Polokwane High Court.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said Muronga told the court that he met the child in Vingerkraal, Bela-Bela, where she was playing with her mates.
After luring the toddler to his place, he ordered the child to wait for him outside while he took a bath. He fetched a knife from the kitchen which he used to stab the toddler who was sitting on a bed.
“He stabbed her once in the neck and she bled profusely. The accused further admits to raping the deceased and hitting the deceased with an axe on the forehead. She died instantly,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.
“He then wrapped her lifeless body with a duvet and placed it inside a bag. The body was [later] dumped nearby a dumping site.
“Later, the accused fled to a [Dooring Lagter] farm and remained there for five days. He went back to Fera Care Wildlife, where he was working, and his employer asked his colleagues to lock him inside a container and called the police.”
During sentencing, the accused pleaded with the court, the deceased’s family, and the community to forgive him, according to Malabi-Dzhangi.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
