Murder convict William Nkuna is to be sentenced on Thursday for the murder of missing police constable Frances Rasuge.
Nkuna was found guilty by Judge Ronald Hendricks in the Mmabatho Circuit Court in Ga-Rankuwa last month, more than a year after the constable went missing and investigations began.
”This court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt on the proven facts before us that the only reasonable inference is that Rasuge is dead,” Hendricks said while giving judgement in a courtroom packed to capacity.
The court may once again be crowded if members of Rasuge’s family, the public, the African National Congress Women’s League, representatives of the Zionist Christian Church and politicians arrive to hear his fate in the same numbers as they did during the trial.
Rasuge was last seen on August 27 last year, with Nkuna outside a hair salon in Themba, north of Pretoria. She has not been found.
Nkuna evaded authorities for more than a year and was arrested in a separate case related to car fraud before he was finally brought to trial in October for the murder.
Police at one stage offered a R500 000 reward for his arrest.
Nkuna’s evidence, as the sole defence witness, was rejected in as much as his account differed from that of the state.
State advocate Johann Smit had tried to prove through circumstantial evidence that Nkuna and Rasuge had a turbulent relationship, that Nkuna had used Rasuge’s cellphone and that he withdrew money from her account days after she went missing.
Senior Superintendent Pieter du Plessis said on Wednesday the sentencing proceedings had been set down for one day. — Sapa