THE mother of the former first lady's killer, Luyanda Mboniswa is asking for forgiveness.
Luyanda murdered Marike de Klerk in December 2001 at her Dolphin Beach apartment in Blouberg, Cape Town.
His mother, Sindiswa Mboniswa (62), was leading a family delegation to welcome him at the correctional services release centre.
Mboniswa was released on Wednesday, August 30, after spending 22 years behind bars.
He was convicted and sentenced to life behind bars by Judge John Hlophe in 2001 at the age of 21.
Sindiswa said: “I have no words to express my happiness. I have no words to say. I don’t know what to say. Since he was convicted, I have always been praying for his release, and at last, God has answered my prayers."
She pleaded for him not to be judged harshly for his deed.
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"He had his reasons for doing what he did, and please don’t judge him. To the De Klerk's family, please forgive me, forgive my son. I am also a parent, and I know the pain you must be feeling. I don't know why he did such a barbaric thing to your family. My son was not a criminal but did what he did out of his own reasons," she said.
Mboniswa's legal representative, Advocate Fikile Nkosi said Mboniswa was eligible for parole in 2016, but his parole application was declined twice by the minister of justice and correctional services.
Correctional Services spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said Mboniswa was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and housebreaking.
"He was considered for parole placement after serving the minimum required time. He will be admitted into the system of community corrections, whereby he is expected to comply with a specific set of parole conditions for the rest of his natural life," he said.
