I lost my father when I was young and I got bewitched, says rapist and killer, but judge hands down six life terms

Serial rapist and murderer Wellington Kachidza does not deserve leniency and any suggestion he can be rehabilitated should be rejected.

Indeed, there is little chance Kachidza will change his ways and be respectful of others’ lives.

This was the finding of high court judge Hennie de Vos on Wednesday as he sentenced the 27-year-old Zimbabwean to six life terms for murder, 15 years for each of his robbery convictions, 10 years for each of his three rape convictions, five years for each of eight kidnapping convictions and two years for being in SA illegally.

Kachidza’s attempt to appeal the sentences was dismissed.

Earlier he pleaded for leniency, saying, among other things, that he was “young” and that his Malawian girlfriend had used muti on him.

But the court found him uncredible.

Kachidza pleaded guilty to multiple crime and was convicted on 34 counts.

He lured some of his victims under false pretences and kept them hostage, demanding ransoms from their families, who paid money directly into the victims’ bank accounts via e-wallet payments and Pep Money Market transfers.

Kachidza testified that he crushed his victims’ heads with rocks, even though ransoms were paid. He was arrested on January 15 2020.

De Vos said he had no doubt a harsh sentence should be imposed.

“I ... take into account that the accused is a foreigner ... He came into this country unlawfully, he put the lives of our people in jeopardy. He killed us and raped our women while he enjoyed the hospitality of this country.”

On rehabilitation, De Vos said: “At this stage it’s merely a figment of the imagination. He didn’t come forward [to confess]. It was through investigations that he was arrested. In my view, I find there is no remorse on the part of the accused.”

The state said it was clear Kachidza’s crimes were motivated by greed as he killed his victims after receiving money.

“Surely the accused can be classified as a serial killer and a serial rapist. The manner in which the victims were killed was brutal. The victims were slaughtered and it was for a few thousand rand,” the state said during sentencing.

Earlier on Wednesday, while chained at the ankles, Kachidza explained why he shouldn’t receive a harsh sentence.

His reasoning, which was rejected, included a fallout with his girlfriend, that he didn’t have a father figure and was a victim of kidnapping when he came to SA.

Kachidza said he met his girlfriend in Soshanguve and that after a fallout in 2015 she stole one of his T-shirts. He said she used it for muti and to bewitch him.

“The woman used my T-shirt for me to struggle, as I am here,” he said, adding that she said: “You are going to prison your whole life.” He told the court he felt he had been bewitched.

The court also heard Kachidza had a wife he married in 2014 and three children from different mothers..

He said his father died in 2000 when he was seven years old.

“I was still young,” he said.

The defence told the court Kachidza suffered because he did not have a positive male role model. “What is clear is that he lacked a guiding hand of a father.”

Kachidza also testified that when he came to SA in 2014 he was a victim of crime, which led him to turn to a life of crime.

He said his uncle promised him work and though acknowledging he was in SA illegally, his intention was to make money for a month, then go home and get his documents in order. 

He told the court that after boarding a taxi in Musina driven by his “home boys”, he was kidnapped with eight other passengers and taken to a basement in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, where they were kept for a month.

He said his family was asked for ransom money, but couldn’t pay.

“I do deserve punishment, but that wasn’t even my intention. I would like to apologise to the family which I caused a mess to. I would like to apologise for all messes I have caused,” he said.

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