Tshwane Serial Killer Wellington Kachidza, 27, Pleads Guilty to 6 Murders, 8 Kidnappings, SA Horrified
- Tshwane's serial killer Wellington Kachidza pleaded guilty to a slew of charges, including a combined total of 14 murders and kidnappings
- Kachidza appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Tshwane for a pre-sentencing hearing, where he gave a detailed account of his crimes
- The 27-year-old described luring his victims, robbing and later killing them after receiving ransom payments from their concerned relatives
- There was a collective air of shock and dismay amid calls for the death penalty on social media as locals lamented the horrific crimes
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TSHWANE - Convicted serial killer Wellington Kachidza gave a shocking account of his modus operandi during a pre-sentencing hearing in the North Gauteng High Court in Tshwane on Tuesday.
Kachidza, 27, reportedly pleaded guilty to six murders, eight abductions and three sexual assaults, among a host of charges, last week. The court accepted his plea and convicted him on 34 counts in total.
Source: UGC
The case was postponed until Wednesday this week for mitigating evidence ahead of sentencing. In a report compiled from the court by TimesLIVE, Kachidza, a Zimbabwean national, revealed the method he used to draw his victims before robbing and killing them.
He detailed that he lured his targets from their jobs under false pretences, claiming to need help to fetch a vehicle in Eersterust, 15 km east of the Tshwane city centre, as he did not possess a driver's licence.
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Fictitious car used a ruse
On arrival, Kachidza pointed to a plot in the distance, saying it was where the vehicle was kept. Convinced, the victim would escort him. Rendani Maphiri, who worked at a BP garage in Sunnyside, was duped in this way and later killed on a mountain a short distance from the plot housing the fictitious car.
"After [Maphiri] completed his shift, we climbed into a taxi heading to Eersterust. After arriving and persuading him to walk the path leading to the car using the mountain as a shortcut, I struck him with a rock on the head," Kachidza recounted.
The killer then disclosed forcing his victims, including Maphiri, to contact their families and notify them of a ransom demand. The relatives of Maphiri deposited about R2 000 after Kachidza had asked for R5 000.
“Once the money was sent, I bashed the victim's head with a rock and left his body on the mountain. Later, I went to the ATM and collected the money that was sent," Kachidza said.
Victims believed promises of jobs
His other victim, Tebatso Mogoathlo, was killed the same way after being led to the mountainous location. A ransom demand was made. Mogoathlo's family managed to send R2 000 after Kachidza asked for R3 000.
"When the notification came through on his cellphone, I crushed his head with a rock and left his lifeless body there," he said.
On the rape charges, he used job offers as a ruse to gain favour. He'd take them to a predetermined location, where he instructed them to undress and raped them. Other areas where he committed the crimes included Denneboom, Soshanguve, Wonderboom and Haakdooringboom, IOL reported.
Brutality of attacks slammed
Undoubtedly, South Africans were seething over the extent of Kachidza's crimes and took to social media to decry the woeful acts. Briefly News takes a look at some of the reactions below.
@Dumisani Masuku wrote:
"Now hand him over to the community, we just want get more details on how he actually did all those things to people. We promise there will be no harm at all to him."
@Lindokuhle Lindo Mbeje said:
"What has become of our beloved country. Every day it gets worse and the people in power are totally fine with it. This mafia government has bred monsters like these."
@Taruberekera Masara added:
"These days it's super sexy to mention Zimbabwean in anything nefarious. It whets the appetite of those who feed on scandal."
Bail postponed for alleged Limpopo Christmas Day killer
Elsewhere, Briefly News previously reported that the bail application of the man accused of wiping out his entire family amid a feud at their home outside Malamulele in Limpopo, Polokwane, on Christmas Day last year was postponed on 28 January.
Enoch Ndou, 52, allegedly shot and killed seven Ndou relatives, among them four children, identified as Rendani (12); Dakalo (8); Ronewa (4); and Wanga (1), after a fight broke out over the family home in Jimmy Jones Village.
The accused's late brother's sons, Mpho and Ndivhuwo, and the latter's pregnant wife, Portia Mabasa, were the other three victims. According to a SABC News report, Enoch was reportedly at odds with his elder brother's sons over the house, said to have belonged to the family's late patriarch.
Source: Briefly News
