A 39-YEAR-OLD man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his friend’s niece while he was on parole.
Jacob Mokibe was sentenced by the Joburg High Court on Friday, 9 June after being convicted of abduction, rape, murder, and obstructing or defeating the administration of justice.
“Based on the accused’s plea explanation that he killed the minor because he had feelings for her mother, his previous convictions, and the fact that he committed these offences while on parole, the court made an order that the accused be referred to Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital for a risk assessment to determine whether he could be declared a dangerous criminal or not, for purposes of sentencing,” said NPA’s spokeswoman Phindi Mjonondwane.
“The report compiled by the institution stated that Mokibe demonstrated a high risk of re-offending and posed a danger to society.”
On 15 February 2022, the 12-year-old left home and went to school as per her usual routine. Mokibe waited for her at the school gate in Dobsonville, Soweto and called the minor to inform her that her family went to the bushes to pray and that he was going to accompany her to where her family was.
The deceased followed the accused as she regarded him as her uncle since he was her uncle’s friend.
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On arrival in the bushy area in Dube, the accused raped and after that strangled the minor to death. He waited for some time to make sure that she was dead.
According to Mjonondwande, Mokibe placed the dead girl's body in the reeds to ensure no one would find her.
He fled the scene and met a friend, and they drank booze and used drugs. This affected his health as he suffered from hypertension and was admitted to Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital in Jabulani.
“In March 2022, he was arrested for violating his parole conditions and, while incarcerated, confessed to the murder of Maditse and subsequently pointed out the crime scene to the police. Her decomposed body was discovered on 24 March 2022,” said Mjonondwane.
She said that in arguing for a firm sentence, State Advocate Rotondwa Phungo stated that the accused killed the deceased in the most violent and brutal way even though she trusted him and referred to him as “uncle”, cutting her life short.
