A 34-year-old Pretoria man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing an 11-year-old girl 66 times.
On Monday, the Pretoria High Court sentenced Conwell Mongezi Chauke, 34, from Loftus Gardens to life in jail for killing Khothatso Welhelmina Tshabalala.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said Chauke was also sentenced to six years for kidnapping of the girl.
She said the court ordered that the sentences run concurrently and Chauke be declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Mahanjana said the girl’s murder occurred on December 29, 2020, at her home in Mamelodi East.
On that fateful day, the mother of Khothatso received a call while at work from Chauke, who was a member of her prayer group and her prayer partner.
Romantic relationship
“Chauke then began to threaten the mother over the phone because she did not agree to meet with him the previous day and believed that she was taking him for a fool as he was interested in pursuing a love relationship with her,” said Mahanjana.
“In the afternoon of that same day, Chauke went to Mamelodi East, where the minor child and her mother were residing, and upon arrival, he found the child playing with her younger sister and the neighbour’s child outside their neighbour’s house.
“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.
“He covered her body with linen on top of her bed and fled the scene.
“When the neighbours could not find the child, they went to look for her at her house when they found her body on top of her bed.”
Chauke turned himself in at the Lyttleton police station two days after the incident on December 31, 2020, and has been detained ever since.
According to Mahanjana, Chauke only admitted guilt to the murder charge and refuted claims that he had abducted Khothatso.
He blamed his actions on his resentment towards the child’s mother.
Failure to show remorse
“However, the state adduced evidence that proved that indeed Chauke lured and kidnapped the child,” said Mahanjana.
“During sentencing proceedings, his legal representative asked the court to consider the three years he spent in prison awaiting the finalisation of his trial when imposing the sentence.
“Though he has previous convictions of theft, he is a first-time offender of violent crimes.
“In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor, advocate Sipho Lalane, argued that even though Chauke pleaded guilty to the charge of murder, he did not show remorse but is rather regretful of his actions.
“Furthermore, Lalane said Chauke was convicted of a serious crime that is prevalent in the county.
“He stabbed and killed a minor child who was defenceless, 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 [VIS], where the mother of the deceased expressed that since her child was killed, she is not psychologically well and that Chauke took away her best friend.
“In her VIS, the deceased sister mentioned that she is always lonely because she does not have anyone to play with, as the deceased was also a friend to her.
“She also added that her school performance has declined after losing her sister.”
Right to life
She said that Judge Jacobus Johannes Strijdom concurred with the state in imposing the sentence, finding Chauke guilty of a heinous crime that infringed on the deceased person’s constitutional right to life.
“Furthermore, he was merciless when stabbing the child 66 times, which shows that he is a danger to society and that it is the court’s responsibility to protect society from offenders like him,” said Mahanjana.
“Moreover, the interest of justice outweighs his circumstances; therefore, the court found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence.
“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and hopes that it will send a strong message that the NPA will ensure that offenders who commit such violent crimes against women and children don’t have a place in society.”
