Moses Sithole
Born (1964-11-17) 17 November 1964
Vosloorus, Gauteng, South Africa
Other namesThe ABC Killer
The South African Strangler
The Gauteng Killer
Conviction(s)Murder
Rape
Robbery
Criminal penalty2,410 years' imprisonment
Details
Victims38 confirmed, 76 suspected
Span of crimes
1994–1995
CountrySouth Africa
State(s)Atteridgeville, Gauteng, Johannesburg
Date apprehended
6 November 1995
Imprisoned atMangaung Correctional Centre

Moses Sithole (born 17 November 1964) is a South African serial killer and rapist who committed the ABC Murders,[1] so named because they began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg.

Sithole murdered at least 37 women and one toddler between 16 July 1994 and 6 November 1995. Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 years imprisonment and is currently incarcerated at Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.[2]

Early life

Moses Sithole was born on 17 November 1964 in Vosloorus, a township near Boksburg, Transvaal Province (now Gauteng). When he was five years old, his father died and his mother abandoned the family.[3] Sithole and his siblings spent the next three years in an orphanage, where he later said they were mistreated. By his own account, Sithole was arrested for rape in his teens and spent seven years in prison.[3] He later blamed his imprisonment for turning him into a murderer. He explained his crimes by saying that the women he murdered all reminded him of the women who had falsely accused him of rape years before.[3]

Murders

Sithole appeared to be a mild-mannered individual to those around him. At the time of his crimes, he was managing a shell organization, Youth Against Human Abuse, ostensibly devoted to the eradication of child abuse. After committing murders in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, Sithole moved his focus to Boksburg and eventually to Cleveland. By 1995, he had claimed over thirty victims, sparking nationwide panic. In some cases, he would later phone the victims' families for no other apparent reason than to taunt them.[4] At one point, President Nelson Mandela visited Boksburg in person to appeal for public assistance in apprehending the killer.[3]

Methods

Sithole targeted black women between the ages of 19 and 45 years old. Most of his victims were being interviewed for positions with Sithole's ersatz charity. Sithole would take them to remote fields, where he would beat, rape, and murder them. They were generally strangled with their underwear. He once inflicted a head wound on the two-year-old son of one of his victims and left him to die from exposure.[3]

Capture

In August 1995, Sithole was identified as having been seen with one of the victims, but he disappeared shortly after SAPS investigators learned details of his previous rape conviction. In October 1995, Sithole contacted South African journalist Tamsen de Beer and identified himself as the wanted murderer.[3] During a phone conversation with De Beer, he indicated that the killings were carried out in revenge for his unjust imprisonment and claimed 76 victims, twice as many as those reported. Finally, to prove his identity, Sithole gave directions to where one of the bodies had been left.[3] Local authorities subsequently cornered Sithole in Johannesburg, shooting the suspect when he attacked a constable with a hatchet. Sithole was driven to the hospital, where he was found to be HIV positive and also tested positive for TB.[3][5]

Trial and imprisonment

After De Beer was subpoenaed, she testified at the Pretoria High Court where her evidence was key in the conviction of Sithole. On 5 December 1997, Sithole was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment for each of the 38 murders, twelve years' imprisonment for each of the 40 rapes, and five years' imprisonment for each of six robberies. Since his sentences run consecutively, his total effective sentence is 2,410 years.

Justice David Curlewis ordered that Sithole would be required to serve at least 930 years before being eligible for parole, making him eligible for parole at the age of 963. The judge also told Sithole that if capital punishment was still used, he would have been sentenced to death. Sithole was incarcerated in C-Max, the maximum security section of Pretoria Central Prison. He is currently incarcerated in Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.[2]

Victims

Full list of Sithole's victims[6]

Number Name Sex Age Date of Murder Notes
1 Marina Monene Monama F 18 16 July 1994
2 Amanda Kebofile Thethe F 26 6 August 1994 In a relationship with Sithole at the time
3 Joyce Thakane Mashabela F 32 19 August 1994
4 Refiloe Amanda Mokale F 24 7 September 1994
5 Rose Rebothile Mogotsi F 22 18 September 1994
6 Unidentified victim F Unknown December 1994 Discovered on 3 January 1995
7 Beauty Nuku Soko F 27 January 1995
8 Sara Matlakala Mokono F 25 3 March 1995
9 Nikiwe Diko F 24 7 April 1995 Was raped with a stick; discovered 24 June
10 Letta Nomthandazo Ndlangamandla F 25 12 April 1995
11 Sibusiso Nomthandazo Ndlangamandla M 2 20 April 1995 Letta's son; incidental; injured in the head and died from exposure
12 Esther Moshibudi Mainetja F 29 12 May 1995
13 Granny Dimakatso Ramela F 21 23 May 1995 Discovered 18 July
14 Elizabeth Granny Mathetsa F 19 25 May 1995 Discovered 16 June
15 Mildred Ntiya Lepule F 28 30 May 1995 Discovered 26 July
16 Francina Nomsa Sithebe F 25 13 June 1995
17 Ernestina Mohadi Mosebo F 30 22 June 1995
18 Elsie Khoti Masango F 25 14 July 1995 Discovered 8 August
19 Josephine Mantsali Mlangeni F 25 17 July 1995
20 Oscarina Vuyokazi Jakalase F 30 8 August 1995 Discovered 23 August
21 Unidentified victim F Unknown 9 August 1995
22 Makoba Tryphina Mogotsi F 26 15 August 1995 Discovered 17 September
23 Unidentified victim F Unknown 28 August 1995
24 Unidentified victim F Unknown 30 August 1995
25 Nelisiwe Nontobeko Zulu F 26 4 September 1995 Discovered 17 September
26 Amelia Dikamakatso Rapodile F 43 7 September 1995
27 Unidentified victim F Unknown 12 September 1995
28 Monica Gabisile Vilakazi F 31 12 September 1995 Discovered 17 September
29 Hazel Nozipho Madikizela F 21 17 September 1995
30 Tsidi Malekoae Matela F 45 17 September 1995
31 Unidentified victim F Unknown 17 September 1995
32 Unidentified victim F Unknown 17 September 1995
33 Unidentified victim F Unknown 17 September 1995
34 Agnes Sibongile Mbuli F 20 17 September 1995 Discovered 3 October
35 Unidentified victim F Unknown 9 October 1995
36 Beauty Ntombi Ndabeni F Unknown 10 October 1995 Discovered 11 October
37 Unidentified victim F Unknown 14 October 1995
38 Unidentified victim F Unknown 6 November 1995

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kendal, Rebekah (3 May 2007). "Worst criminals of SA". iafrica.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  2. 1 2 Dordley, Lucinda (31 October 2019). "The bloody history of South Africa's serial killers". capetownetc.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Greig, Charlotte (2005). Evil Serial Killers: In the Minds of Monsters. New York: Barnes & Noble. pp. 176, 177. ISBN 0760775664.
  4. ↑ A&E Biography - Moses Sithole
  5. ↑ "South African Strangler: Moses Sithole". Notorious. The Biography Channel.
  6. ↑ "Moses Sithole: South Africa's Worst Serial Killer". Crime + Investigation. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  • Newton, Michael (2000). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. New York: Checkmark Books. p. 207. ISBN 0-8160-3979-8.
  • Ströhm, Martin. "Graveyard". Crime Library. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  • von Nekerk, Philip (October 2000). "A Time to Kill". Maxim. maximonline.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
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