Johannesburg serial killer Sipho Dube swore when he was led to the cells after receiving 10 life sentences in the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday.
”The accused showed no mercy at all to his victims,” said Judge Seun Moshidi. ”The crimes were clearly premeditated and well-planned.”
He said Dube has shown ”no remorse at all” and ”poses a significant danger to society”.
Moshidi imposed life sentences for each of the seven murders and three rapes committed by Dube (27), after saying there were no substantial or compelling circumstances that would justify anything less than the minimum prescribed sentence for these crimes.
Moshidi sentenced Dube to an additional 114 years on other charges, including kidnapping and indecent assault. The sentences run concurrently, giving an effective life sentence, which is a minimum of 25 years before parole is considered.
The judge said he had considered sentencing Dube to an indefinite sentence or making him wait for longer than 25 years before applying for parole but did not do so, leaving the matter to Department of Correctional Service authorities. He told victims and their families they could apply to be heard at a future parole hearing.
”It was a long and difficult trial,” said Moshidi.
The court was crowded with families of victims as well as law students from the University of Johannesburg. Dube tried to hide his face behind a balaclava and sunglasses, until the judge told him to remove them and stand up for sentencing. After sentencing, Dube swore at people in the courtroom when he was led to the cells.
Before the hearing started, Dube cursed the police when they took away his bottle of flavoured water. ”My respect for you should not make you treat me like this,” he told them.
”The traditional medicine won’t help you. You will have an accident and your balls will burst … Your rank does not mean anything to me,” he said in Zulu.
He also swore at photographers and TV journalists, telling them to ”voertsek [go away]” and take photographs of their own mothers.
Dube was convicted of murdering Rashunthee Singh (39) in Ladysmith and Lukhanyo Kuwane (10), Tina Bernardes (11), Nomnikelo Jumba (14) and Thabo Dlongolo (14), as well as nine-year-old Anele Mbuku and his cousin Siyabonga Mbuku (12) in Johannesburg.
He was also convicted of three rapes, 11 kidnappings, six cases of indecent assault, one case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, one case of common assault, one case of robbery and one of theft — a total of 31 crimes. The crimes were carried out between May 2001 and January 2004. He had originally faced 41 charges.
Dube did not testify in the case, during which he made death threats, swore and tried to throw a court microphone at the families of his victims. He also swore at journalists who tried to take photographs of him.
He was arrested in November 2003 by the family of one of his victims. He escaped two months later and was rearrested in January 2004. — Sapa