‘I crushed his head with a rock’: Tshwane ‘serial killer’ had no mercy after ransom was paid for victims

Tshwane’s convicted serial killer Wellington Kachidza has revealed that after a ransom was paid for his victims, he killed them by smashing a rock on their heads as soon as the money was deposited.

Kachidza pleaded guilty to multiple crimes including at least six murder charges, eight kidnappings, three rapes, robbery with aggravating circumstances and theft. The court accepted his plea and convicted him on 34 counts in total.

The 27-year-old appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday. He submitted his guilty plea last week. The case has been postponed until Wednesday for evidence in mitigation before sentencing.

Kachidza explained in his guilty plea how he lured victims from work under false pretences, claiming to need help fetching a car in Eesterust because he did not have a driver’s licence.

On arrival at Eesterust, he would say the vehicle was on a plot in the distance and convinced them to accompany him.

Kachidza said on October 8 2019 he approached Rendani Maphiri at a garage where he worked and duped him into fetching the car.

“After the deceased knocked off from work we took a taxi to Eesterust and when we reached there, I convinced the deceased that the motor vehicle was on the other side of the mountain and we had to take a shortcut over the mountain.

“When we reached the top of the mountain near a reservoir I attacked the deceased and hit him with a rock on the head. The deceased fell to the ground and became dizzy. I instructed him to take out his cellphone and to call his sister to tell her he was kidnapped and I demanded a R5,000 ransom. About R2,000 was sent to the deceased’s cellphone and I later withdrew the money at an ATM,” he said.

He forcefully took Maphiri’s cellphone. 

“After the money was transferred I killed the deceased by bashing his head with a rock and left his body on the mountain,” he said.

On the murder of Tebatso Mogoathlo, Kachidza said after luring him like the others, he immediately attacked him on the mountain, striking him with a stone on the head.

“I then removed his shoelaces and tied his hands. I took his cellphone and told him to call his mother and inform her that he has been kidnapped. I demanded R3,000 to be paid in the deceased’s bank account."

He said R2,000 was deposited.

“After I saw the notification on his cellphone I crushed the deceased’s head with a rock and left his body on the mountain,” he said.

Mogoathlo’s aunt Mankitseng Magoro told TimesLIVE they found only bones after paying the ransom. She said they borrowed the money from friends.

Magoro said Mogoathlo’s mother, Magdeline Mogoatlho, had died without seeing justice done for what happened to her son.

“My sister died of a heart attack only three months after we buried the boy,” said Magoro.

On the charges of rape, he lured victims by making them believe he found them a job but  later instructed them to undress and raped them.

Kachidza, a Zimbabwean national, also pleaded guilty to contravening the Immigration Act.

TimesLIVE