South African post office rapist and murderer given life
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South African post office rapist and murderer given life
South African post office worker Luyanda Botha has been handed three life sentences after admitting to the rape and murder of 19-year-old student Uyinene Mrwetyana.
Her killing in August sparked large protests over the high levels of violence against women in the country.
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, tied a ribbon at a memorial on her visit to Cape Town in September.
In South Africa some 2,700 women were murdered by men last year.
In addition, at least 100 rapes were reported daily.
In September, at an emergency sitting of parliament on this issue, President Cyril Ramaphosa said urgent action was needed and likened the figures for violence against women and children to those of a country at war.
Shortly after her murder, reports emerged that Ms Mrwetyana had been lured into the mail room of a post office in Cape Town.
At the student’s funeral the family apologised for not protecting her
She was then raped twice and bludgeoned to death, South African news site News24 reports.
Botha hid her body in the post office’s safe before taking it to another place and setting fire to it, News24 adds quoting the prosecution’s summary.
The first-year film and media studies student had been missing for a week before her body was found dumped in Khayelitsha township.
The killing led to large protests, including an attempt to storm a conference centre in Cape Town where a meeting of the World Economic Forum was taking place.
The Duchess of Sussex personally passed on her condolences to the victim’s mother. Meghan made the visit to “show solidarity” with protesters against gender-based violence, a post on her official Instagram account said.
BBC
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