Cape Town - A series killer has been convicted of murder in the Western Cape High Court sitting in Swellendam.
Brian Mudyiwayana, also known as Linos Munodawafa, was charged with six counts of murder, one count of rape, one count of of robbery with aggravating circumstances and two counts of being in the country illegally.
It was the State’s case that Mudyiwayana went on a killing spree in Swellendam, Wolseley, Mossel Bay, De Doorns and Bredasdorp between 2016 and 2017.
He was found guilty of the murders of five women whose remains were found in open fields in the different towns.
The victims include Moleboheng Mafata, Gladys Ntondini, Grace Nyasha Hondo, Naume Gwengwe and Lungelwa Dangatye.
Mudyiwayana was also found guilty of the murder of Michael Pekaan, whose body was found with multiple stab wounds in his house.
The State said that Mudyiwayana had travelled across the province, promised these women job opportunities and then killed them by causing blunt force trauma to their heads.
During the trial, it was revealed that Mudyiwayana had confessed to the murders when he made certain admissions in his warning statements.
Evidence provided in court by witnesses indicated that Mudyiwayana was the last person to see a number of the victims.
A psychological profile of the accused also indicated that the accused was a serial offender in connection with the majority of the crimes committed.
It was also revealed in court, after the murders, that in most of the cases the witnesses who last saw the victims stated that the offender returned to the general area where he found his initial victims.
Due to the fact that most of the victims suffered blunt force trauma to the head, it was found that the victims were in all probability killed by the same person.
Fingerprint evidence linked Mudyiwayana to the crime scene where Pekaan’s body was found, while DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene where Dangatye’s body was found.
During the trial, Mudyiwayana testified that the crimes were caused by spiritual black magic and “muti” influence that was cast over him. He also blamed a number of other people and said that a Sangoma influenced him to commit the crimes.
He also testified that when he came to South Africa from Zimbabwe in 2009, he used a false name and agreed that this was unlawful. He further conceded that he paid an unauthorised person to create a fraudulent and false asylum-seeker permit on his behalf.
In his judgment, Judge Derek Wille said: “The accused was very evasive, contradictory and sometimes confrontational during cross-examination. He was an extremely poor witness.
“I also take the view that the accused on many occasions fabricated his evidence as the trial progressed in an attempt to offer up explanations for his part in these crimes committed by him.”
The judge found that State prosecutor, Advocate Megan Blows, had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offences.
Mudyiwayana pleaded guilty to one count of being in the country illegally and was acquitted of the rape charge.