I was going to write about the ten most incredible experiences you can have in South Africa, like stargazing above the numerous shipwrecks littering the coastline, coming face-to-face with a great white shark, or discovering the history of modern humans.
But after reading about yet another senseless murder that rocked the country, just 13.7 miles (22 kilometers) from where I live, I realize again that now is not the time to wax poetic about this country. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the horrors happening here every single day. The situation in this country is completely out of hand, mainly thanks to a hapless government out to line their stomachs and pockets, the safety of South African residents be damned.
In addition to women in rural areas killing their children and themselves out of desperation and hunger because they don’t get the help and resources they need and deserve, around 84 people are murdered in South Africa every day. There is no protection for South Africans. There is no safe haven. There is just fear and suffering and death. To make matters worse, death often comes at the hands of parents and partners who were supposed to love and protect their spouses and their children.
This is not another list of serial killers or worst-ever crimes. It is the harrowing story of the shocking downfall of a country at the hands of criminals and plain evil people who know there are simply no consequences for violently ending the lives of innocent people. It is ten descriptions of a day in the life of ordinary adults and children that ended horrifically, all because violence and chaos reign here. It is a last-gasp effort to turn global attention towards yet another country in Africa where the heartbreaking cries of suffering and grief are ignored.
As you read the entries on this list, take a moment to reflect on the stark facts. These were living, breathing human beings going about their day, dreaming about the future, working, playing, going to school, gathering with family, celebrating, and being happy.
Until they weren’t.
Related: Ten Infamous Unsolved Cases of Children Meeting Untimely Ends
10 Chevonne Rusch
A mother’s betrayal | Carte Blanche | M-Net
On May 11, 2022, Stefan van Niekerk walked into a Primrose clinic in Germiston, Gauteng. He was carrying his fiancé’s daughter, two-year-old Chevonne Rusch. Doctors and nurses rushed to help and saw that the toddler was not moving. As they examined the little girl, they realized that Chevonne had been abused and beaten to the point where they could do nothing to save her. She died shortly afterward, and Stefan was arrested.
Chevonne’s little body had 49 bruises, and her cause of death was listed as bleeding on the brain. While it seemed like a clear-cut case and that Stefan would be imprisoned for the murder, things were about to get much worse. Chevonne’s mother, Rochelle Botha, was arrested not long after the news spread of Chevonne’s murder. On November 17, 2023, both Stefan and Rochelle were convicted of murder, sexual assault, child neglect, and child abuse.
Rochelle and Stefan were handed a mere 25-year prison sentence, even though she did horrific things to her child and allowed her fiancé to do the same.
Rochelle, who is only 24 years old, showed no remorse for being complicit in the murder of her blonde, blue-eyed little girl. Instead, she quickly adapted to life in prison and joined a gang that bullies other prisoners. She is also still using drugs, just as she did when she was supposed to protect her child.[1]
9 Uyinene Mrwetyana
The Murder That Outraged A Nation | The Horrific Case of Uyinene Mrwetyana
Nineteen-year-old University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana went to the post office on an ordinary August day in 2019. She wanted to pick up a parcel she had been expecting. Despite receiving a notification that her parcel was ready, the post office attendant, Luyanda Botha, who worked at the Clareinch post office, told the young woman she would have to return later to get her parcel because it was not ready for collection.
Uyinene was unaware that the post office would close at 1 p.m., but Luyanda planned it that way. He told his colleague she could leave earlier and then waited for Uyinene to return.
When she arrived at the post office, Luyanda let her in and locked the door behind them. He overpowered Uyinene and raped her, after which he tried to strangle her. When he failed in strangling her to death, he hit her over the head with a 4.4-pound (2-kilogram) weight. He left her body in the post office, returning the next morning to retrieve it. He drove to a nearby field where he dumped Uyinene’s body and set it alight. Uyinene’s family meanwhile reported her as missing when she did not return home the following day. Her burnt body was discovered nine days after she went missing.
Luyanda Botha was arrested, and he subsequently confessed to the murder. He was handed three life sentences on November 15, 2019. Yet he will still be eligible for parole after serving 25 years of his sentence.
Uyinene’s horrific death led to a massive public outcry that eventually resulted in a University of Cape Town shutdown. More protests also led to President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing that sex offenders would receive harsher punishments. Still, this has done nothing to stem the wave of violence that continues to engulf the country.[2]
8 Bokgabo Poo
Crime in SA | Will there be justice for Bokgabo Poo?
As of the posting of this list, it has been nearly 700 days since the murder of four-year-old Bokgabo “Connie” Poo. The little girl went missing from Masoleng Park in Wattville, Benoni, on October 10, 2022. The following day, Leah Khoza, a resident of Tamboville, which is just over a half mile (1 kilometer) away from Wattville, was sweeping her yard when she noticed something sticking up from the ground. When she looked closer, she saw that it was a child’s leg with the toes pointed up.
The search for Bokgabo ended when a mutilated body was discovered just a few meters from Khoza’s house. Bokgabo’s parents buried what was left of their bubbly little girl three weeks later. Some of Bokgabo’s body parts remain missing.
By the time the funeral took place, a suspect had already been arrested for Bokgabo’s murder. Ntokozo Zikhali was out on bail for a pending rape case when he appeared in court for the murder of Bokgabo. He was charged with kidnapping, rape, murder, violating a corpse, and defeating the ends of justice. Zikhali confessed to the crime, and the prosecutor (the state) presented video footage in court that showed Zikahli and Bokgabo walking alongside one another on the day she went missing. Zikhali also pointed out the scene where some of Bokgabo’s body parts were found.
Yet, in August 2023, the Gauteng High Court dismissed all the charges against Zikhali, rejecting his confession and all evidence against him. The court found that Zikhali had been coerced into confessing and that he had not been read his rights properly when he pointed out the above-mentioned scene.
In the same week, however, Zikhali was found guilty of raping a nine-year-old girl in Tamboville in 2021 (the case he was out on bail for). He was handed a life sentence. To date, no one else has been arrested for the murder of Bokgabo Poo.[3]
7 Tazne van Wyk
Kidnapped, murdered and dumped: Tazne van Wyk
Eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk left her home in Ravensmead, Cape Town, on February 7, 2020, to buy sweets at a shop just a few meters away. She never returned. Eyewitnesses who saw Tazne that day before she disappeared said she was walking with a neighbor, Moehydian Pangaker, who was known to many people in the area.
Pangaker was a nomad who never stayed in one place for too long. By the time the community realized that Pangaker had done something to Tazne, they could not find him. An angry crowd later heard that Pangaker was hiding out at a school and immediately went there to confront him. It was only several days later that Pangaker was actually found and apprehended. He was no longer in Ravensmead but in Cradock in the Eastern Cape. Pangaker denied that he had done anything wrong, but it did not take long for the police to get the truth out of him.
Pangaker led the police to where he had dumped Tazne’s body along the N1 highway near Worcester. He had raped the young girl, beaten her to death, and cut off her left hand. It was soon revealed that Pangaker had previous convictions that ran between 1981 and 2004. He had sexually assaulted other children, beaten and raped his own daughter repeatedly, and also raped his granddaughter. He continued assaulting and raping both his daughter and her granddaughter until 2019.
Pangaker ultimately faced 27 charges, including kidnapping, murder, rape, incest, and sexual assault. Video footage presented in court showed Tazne getting out of a car with Pangaker at a gas station near Worcester. There was no sign of fear or apprehension from Tazne, which showed she did not know the grave danger she was in, mainly because she trusted Pangaker.
Pangaker ultimately received nine life sentences for his crimes. But, while this will keep him off the streets, too many others just like him are still wandering around, looking for their next victim.[4]
6 Jerobejin van Wyk
Klawer: Murdered for mangoes | Carte Blanche | M-Net
On February 2, 2022, 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk and a couple of his friends allegedly decided to steal mangoes from 54-year-old Daniel Smit’s garden in Klawer in the Western Cape. These young boys could never have imagined what would transpire after their typical teenage mischief (if that is indeed what they were up to). The South African Human Rights Commissioner’s visit to Smit’s property two weeks later revealed that there was no mango tree in the garden or yard.
While it is still unclear what exactly transpired that day, Smit told police that he caught the boys on his property. He then decided to chase after them in his bakkie (small truck) when they ran away. Smit said he accidentally hit Jerobejin and then took him back to his house to give him bread and a cold drink. Smit also said that he went back inside his house while Jerobejin ate, and the boy was gone when he came back outside.
However, according to one of Jerobejin’s friends, Smit drove over Jerobejin before putting him in his truck and speeding away. Jerobejin never made it home. His mother reported him missing that same day, and several residents went looking for Jerobejin the following day. What they found were some of the boy’s remains in a drain on Smit’s property. The remains included intestines, an ear, and a kidney.
Smit was arrested, but what followed was more than two years of waiting for him to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital to assess whether he was fit to stand trial. Court documents state that prosecutors believe Smit premeditated the murder of Jerobejin because he assaulted and stabbed him after running him over with his vehicle. He then dismembered and burned the boy’s body, finally disposing of it to try and hide his crime.
