Gauteng Serial Killer Slapped With Six Life Terms, 192 Years In Prison
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria sentenced a convicted serial killer to six life terms and 192 years in prison for a series of crimes.
Wellington Kachidza, a 28-year-old Zimbabwean national, pleaded guilty to 34 counts, including six counts of murder, three counts of rape, eight counts of kidnapping, eight counts of extortion, eight counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and eight counts of illegally entering the country.
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Kachidza’s crime spree occurred in Pretoria between January 2018 and December 2019, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Kachidza’s murder victims were men whom he enticed by posing as a driver before kidnapping them and demanding ransom money from their families.
The reported cause of death based on post-mortem for the victims was head injury or trauma to the head. “With the three female victims, he pretended to be offering employment opportunities, he would lure them to a close-by bush or veld, rape them and rob them of their belongings and walk away.
“Kachidza was arrested on the 15 of January 2020, based on an intelligence-driven operation and was later linked by DNA evidence to the rape counts. He has been in custody since his arrest,” said NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.
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Prosecutor Adv. Pieter Coetzer, the lead prosecutor in Wellington Kachidza’s case, argued in court that the motive behind his crimes was pure greed – and that his evil deeds had a severe impact, particularly on his rape victims and the families of the men he murdered.
“The Director of Public Prosecutions, Adv. Sibongile Mzinyathi is confident that through this sentence, the community can be reminded that the NPA is committed to ensuring that people who commit such gruesome crimes are prosecuted. Mzinyathi is also thankful to the investigating team of the South African Police Service (SAPS) that investigated this matter.”
