Unveiling darkness part 2: The dark legacy of South Africa's serial killers and unveiling their horrific crimes
South Africa has a dark and disturbing history of violent crime, and among the most chilling chapters are those involving serial killers.
These individuals have left a lasting imprint on the nation's collective memory due to the brutality of their crimes and the sheer number of victims left in their wake.
Often driven by complex psychological and societal factors, South Africa's most notorious serial killers have operated in different regions, targeting vulnerable members of society.
In part one we looked at the infamous Daisy de Melker, the terrifying Sipho Thwala, and three other serial killers as we delved into the dark legacy of crime in our backyard.
In this article, we will take a closer look at five more, delving into the horrifying details of their killing sprees and the impact they have had on the nation.
What makes a serial killer (often referred to as a serial murderer) different to other murders? Well, to be defined as a serial killer, a person has to kill more than three people over a period of time.
Gert van Rooyen
Gert van Rooyen was linked by police to the disappearance of six young girls in the late 1980s and a string of paedophile activities.
The girls were abducted in 1989 by paedophile Van Rooyen and his girlfriend, Joey Haarhoff. The couple killed themselves when police closed in on them.
On May 14, 1996, the police believed that the missing schoolgirls could still be alive.
They conducted an intensive search of South Africa's “house of horrors,” once owned by Van Rooyen.
However, the search yielded no trace of the missing girls only a pile of animal bones.
According to AFP, at the time, police theorised that Van Rooyen and Haarhoff were Satanists who killed the girls as part of bizarre rituals. They called occult expert Superintendent Kobus Jonker who said there was no proof of ceremonies having occurred at the house.
Jonker didn't rule out, however, that Van Rooyen may have been a satanic priest; if so, he would have led what appeared to be a normal life while practising rituals elsewhere, according to AFP.
Van Rooyen’s son, Flippie van Rooyen was sentenced to 28 years in jail for the murder of a young Zimbabwean girl in 1991.
He claimed his father Gert was part of a network which supplied children to cabinet ministers for sex. He claimed at least 40 children were involved. Claims that were later proven to not involve cabinet ministers.
David Randitsheni
David Randitsheni was a serial rapist and killer. In 2009, he was convicted of 10 murders and 17 rapes. His crimes involved children, and took place between 2004 and 2008, in Limpopo.
On August 18, 2009, police said that the High Court in Modimolle sentenced Randitshene to 16 life sentences, plus 220 years imprisonment for murder, rape and kidnapping.
On the 10 counts of murder, he was sentenced to 10 life sentences, on 16 counts of rape, he was sentenced to 16 life sentences. On one count of rape and one count of indecent assault, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for each count.
Randitshene was sentenced to 180 years imprisonment on 18 counts of kidnapping. (10 years for each count.)
He was arrested on May 16, 2008, after an intensive police investigation during which over 550 DNA samples were tested before a police forensic expert identified the suspect.
Of all 19 of his victims, only one was an adult woman, all the others were young girls. They were kidnapped and raped and 10 were murdered in a crime spree which devastated the Modimolle community.
Handing down his sentence, Judge Roger Claassen, said Randitshene could not be considered for parole for the next 35 years.
The SABC reported that Claassen said the crimes were committed in a horrific manner. Randitsheni made admissions, but by choosing to remain silent, he showed no reasons to prove his innocence.
Claassen said the State had proven beyond a reasonable doubt he committed the offences.
On August 30, 2009, Randitsheni died by suicide and was found hanging by a sheet from a window frame in the Thohoyandou prison.
Bulelani Mabhayi
Bulelani Mabhayi, known as the “Monster of Tholeni,” was sentenced to 25 years behind bars in the High Court in Butterworth for raping and mutilating 20 women and children. He would then beat or hack them to death.
Mabhayi confessed to murdering 20 women and children and six rapes. He murdered his victims with a cleaver or axe after breaking into their homes in a rural Eastern Cape village, in a three-year killing spree from 2007, AFP reported.
His oldest murder victim was a woman, aged 79, and the youngest was a 14-month-old baby.
He was charged with 20 counts of murder, six counts of rape, and 10 counts of house-breaking with intent to commit murder and rape. He targeted homes where only women and children stayed.
Jack Mogale
Jack Mogale had people living on the outskirts of Johannesburg locking their doors early in the evenings between 2008 and 2009.
Mogale was found guilty in the High Court in Johannesburg on March 16, 2011, of 52 of the 61 charges against him, including rape, kidnapping and murder.
Judge Frans Kgomo found Mogale guilty of nine kidnappings, 19 rapes, 16 murders, an attempted murder, three robberies with aggravating circumstances, a fraud or theft, an assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, a sexual assault charge and a charge of escaping from lawful custody.
Mogale had pleaded not guilty to all the charges throughout his trial.
Dubbed the “West-End serial killer” by police before his identity was discovered, Mogale lured adult black females to open areas where he raped and murdered them.
This was often at the West-End brick and clay factory near his home in Waterworks, Westonaria, and at various locations in Lenasia.
Mogale was sentenced to 16 life terms and 23 years for raping and killing 16 of his victims.
“Sentencing is a difficult thing. To look into the eyes of another human being and decide whether to send them away for a very long time is not easy,” Kgomo said at the time.
Moses Sithole
Born on November 17, 1962, Moses Sithole was not only a serial killer but also a serial rapist. The now 59-year-old terrorised Gauteng residents for two years until he was arrested in October 1995.
He got his moniker the “ABC Killer” because his killing was spread between Atteridgeville, Boksburg, and Cleveland.
On December 5, 1997 he was sentenced to 2,410 years in jail by for the murders of mostly young women and 40 rapes. Sithole used the underwear of most of his victims to strangle them.
Judge David Curlewis imposed the lengthy sentence to ensure Sithole spent the rest of his life behind bars as he would only be eligible for parole after 930 years. By the time he was sentenced, South Africa had demolished the death sentence.
Before he started his killing spree, Sithole previously served four years in jail for rape. He was released for “good behaviour” shortly before he started killing.
He committed most of his crimes in and around Johannesburg between 1987 and 1995.
The judge described Sithole as cunning, attractive and articulate.
“That he succeeded in luring so many women to a gruesome end, comes as no surprise,” Curlewis said according to a report by AFP.
According to AFP, the court heard how Sithole targeted women at a children's shelter and he even showed up at the funeral of another of his victims and gave his condolences to the family.
Sithole pleaded innocent, despite confessing to several of the murders in video-taped statements to fellow prisoners.
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