A South African man, Conwell Mongezi Chauke (34), has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of an 11-year-old girl, Khothatso Welhelmina Tshabalala. Chauke was also sentenced to six years direct imprisonment for kidnapping the child.
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled that the sentences would run concurrently and declared Chauke unfit to possess a firearm.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Chauke was a prayer group member with the child’s mother. On December 29, 2020, after the mother rejected his romantic advances, Chauke threatened her over the phone and later lured the child into her home under false pretenses.
Chauke then stabbed the child 66 times, covered her body, and fled the scene. Two days later, he turned himself in at Lyttleton Police Station.
“On 29 December 2020, the mother of the deceased received a call while at work from Chauke, who was her prayer group member and prayer partner. 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,” the statement read.
“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 sixty-six 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 deceased body on top of her bed. Police were called and two days after the incident on 31 December 2020 Chauke handed himself over at Lyttleton Police Station and has been in custody since.
In court, Chauke denied kidnapping the child but admitted to the murder. However, the state presented evidence proving that Chauke had indeed lured and kidnapped the child.
During sentencing, Chauke’s legal representative argued for a reduced sentence due to the time he spent in prison awaiting trial. The state prosecutor, however, argued for the maximum sentence, citing the severity of the crime and the lack of remorse shown by Chauke.
The court agreed with the state and imposed the prescribed minimum sentence. The NPA welcomed the sentence and expressed hope that it would serve as a deterrent to others who commit such heinous crimes.
