Family speaks of ordeal after Joburg sex worker killer Sifiso Mkhwanazi sentenced to life in prison

It was a double tragedy for the family of one of the six sex workers killed by Sifiso Mkhwanazi, as they lost not only her but also her son, who took his own life after her murder.

Mkhwanazi lured six sex workers to his father's panelbeating workshop in central Johannesburg between April and October 2022. He tied them up and then raped and strangled them. The crimes were uncovered when a bad odour led to the discovery of the bodies in various stages of decomposition.

The 21-year-old son of one of the sex workers, Chihota Nyarai, died by suicide last year in December as he couldn't cope with the death of his mother.

Nyarai's firstborn daughter, Pauline Chihota, shared the sad news with TimesLIVE shortly after the Johannesburg high court sitting in Palm Ridge sentenced Mkhwanazi to life imprisonment and declared him a dangerous criminal.

An emotional Pauline, 30, couldn't hold back her tears as she described the role her mother played raising them as a single parent. She said her life and that of her siblings was turned upside down when she found out that her mother was one of the sex workers who had been killed. 

 “I also wanted to kill myself. Unfortunately, my brother, the third born, drank poison. We lost him in December 2023 because of that situation. I couldn't give him what my mom was giving him. So he decided to take his own life,” she said.

Pauline commended the court for the harsh sentence imposed on Mkhwanazi. She said she and her three surviving siblings had prayed for almost three years that he be sent to prison forever. 

Since the death of her mother, she said, she had been struggling to cope. 

“You can see the way I am. I am very skinny, things are not well. I am raising my siblings. Like I said before, I am the first child and cannot even care for the younger ones. My younger sister is not going to school. I cannot feed them, I stay in one room and things are not easy because my mom was everything to us.”

She said her mother was a “very nice person” and she didn't know why he had killed her. 

She was proud of her mother and believed the sentence would send a message to other offenders. 

“I am not ashamed of what my mom was doing because I am what I am today because of her. No-one helped my mom to raise her children. I am so happy that she trained us in whatever way she did, and I am proud of her. God knows that I love you, Mom,” she said.

After her mother had been missing for about three weeks in 2021, Pauline received a call from police telling her they had found some women's bodies and asked her to identify whether one of them was that of her mother.

“When I reached the area, they [police] refused for me to see the bodies. They said they were decomposed, so you have to wait. After that, I think it was about three days, they called me and my siblings to do DNA tests to see if my mom was one of them. 

“I had to describe my mom as having artificial teeth and tattoos. After the DNA it took us about six months to know that my mom was there. She was part of the deceased,” she said.

She added that the sentencing won't change the trauma, but it was comforting to know that her mother's killer would spend the rest of his life behind bars. 

“It will not bring her back but we are happy that he is in prison. It doesn't bring my mom back, it doesn't bring anyone back,” she said.

Mkhwanazi embarked on a rape and murder spree two years ago killing six women. Only three of them were identified. 

Judge Cassim Moosa sentenced Mkhwanazi to life imprisonment for each count of murder, 15 years for each count of rape, 10 years for each count of defeating or obstructing the administration of justice, and five years for theft, 10 years for unlawful possession of a firearm and five years for unlawful possession of ammunition.

The judge ruled the sentences will run concurrently

Moosa said he was of the view that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the imposition of the prescribed minimum sentence where appropriate.

“I believe there can be simply no other suitable sentence imposed in these circumstances having due regard to the heinous and reckless conduct of the accused. To this end, I duly take into consideration the following facts which have implored me to conclude that there should be no deviation from the imposition of the prescribed minimum sentence upon the accused,” he said.

Moosa said the rapes and murders committed by Mkhwanazai were heinous, serious and gruesome crimes. Mkhwanazi's conduct was careless and he lacked genuine remorse. 

“The fact that the deceased were killed in revenge for an alleged incident that had nothing to do with them. The terrible pain that the deceased went through before they died. Two of the deceased were at an advanced stage of pregnancy and this was clear from observing the developments of the foetus from the pictures that were taken at the postmortem examination,” he said.

He said the crimes of which Mkhwanazi was convicted of and the observation of the bodies of the deceased clearly indicated there was a high degree of violence against the unarmed victims. 

There was an extreme degree of planning and premeditation on the part of the accused over a period of time in the commission of the crimes. 

“The accused was 19 years old when he committed the first crime in the series. It is most often found that the younger a person was at his first known violent act the greater is the probability of future violence.

“Of all the variables used to determine risk, he bears the strongest risk to violent behaviour. Sex offender rehabilitation has extremely varied results.

“As long as the person remains sexually active. He is at risk of reoffending. The accused acknowledged that he committed a crime but despite this, he does not seem to have insight into his criminality or the effect that his crimes have on the victims.”

Moosa said Mkhwanazi has proved that he has a very poor prognosis for rehabilitation and is likely to remain a threat to society as long as he is alive. 

Mkhwanazi was declared a dangerous criminal and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for an indefinite period. It was directed he be brought before the court on expiration of a period of 30 years to enable the court to reconsider the sentence.

The court will then make a determination and an inquiry will be held on whether he still imposes a risk to society.

“The accused is ordered to participate in long-term psychotherapy with a clinical psychologist with the focus on behaviour, anger management and insight-orientated interventions offered by the department of correctional services,” ruled the judge.

He said Mkhwanazi must also participate in other appropriate programmes and courses to address his sexual and violent attitude including sexual offender programmes offered by the department of correctional services.

He ordered that a copy of the judgment on the sentence and a psychiatrist report be forwarded to the department of correctional services and be reviewed when considering parole or psychological treatment for Mkhwanazi.

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