Hefty sentence for Pretoria man who raped, murdered

A 33-year-old man from Nellmapius was permanently removed from society as the Pretoria High Court handed out the hefty sentence of two life terms and 15 years for rape and murder.

On Monday, the court sentenced Kenneth Sego Debeila to two life terms for the rape and murder of his daughter, Angela Tshepang Makhura (11).

He was also sentenced 15 years’ direct imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend of 18 years, 31-year-old Itumeleng Beverly Makhura.

This came after the woman was found dead under her boyfriend’s bed, while her 11-year-old daughter’s body was found on top of the same bed.

Court proceedings

NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana says the court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, and Debeila was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

In addition, the court ordered that Debeila’s name should be added to the national register for sexual offenders and that the families of the victims be informed and could make representations should he be considered for parole.

Fateful day

On March 18, 2022, Debeila and Makhura met at a club in Nellmapius and went to his place afterwards. Mahanjana says when they arrived, a verbal and physical altercation ensued between the two of them, and Debeila strangled her.

“On March 19, 2022, the two children he shared with Makhura, Tshepang and a five-year-old boy, visited him for a sleepover at his place. That night, the son shared a room with a relative and Tshepang shared a bed with him,” explains Mahanjana

He says while sleeping, Debeila raped and strangled his daughter.

On March 20, 2022, the mother and grandmother of the deceased met Debeila carrying bags.

Mahanjana says when the grandmother asked him about her daughter, he told her she was sleeping at his house.

When she arrived at the house and looked through the window, she saw the 11-year-old girl’s body on top of the bed with foam coming out of her mouth.

She called the police.

Gruesome discovery

The community then started searching for Makhura. After a while, they went back to the house to search for her again and found her body under the bed later that day.

Debeila was arrested two months later on May 13, 2022, in Limpopo after handing himself over to the police.

In court he pleaded guilty to the charges. Through his attorney he told the court he was remorseful because he had handed himself over to the police and by pleading guilty did not waste the court’s time.

However, state advocate Thembile Nyakama said Debeila only pleaded guilty because the state had overwhelming evidence against him, and DNA linked him to the offence.

Furthermore, Nyakama said Debeila killed his girlfriend, a mother to his children and his 11-year-old daughter, who he was supposed to protect, but chose to rape and kill her.

She asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment.

Nyakama also called to the stand the mother and grandmother of the victims, who explained to the court that since the incident she had been unable to sleep and was suffering from memory loss and high blood pressure.

Judge Munzhelele agreed with the state and said such offences were prevalent, and that gender-based violence (GBV) has been declared a pandemic in South Africa.

As such, courts must ensure the sentence given must align with the gravity of the offence. Therefore, she found no compelling and substantial circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.

Director of Public Prosecutions advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomed the sentence and hoped it would send a strong message that GBV crimes will not be tolerated but prosecuted.

Sentence welcomed

Themba Masango from the #Notinmyname organisation welcomed the sentencing.

“As the community and people’s organisation, we should thank the honourable court for their hard work in this case. The perpetrator killed his girlfriend of 18 years and her innocent 11-year-old daughter for no apparent reason,” said Masango.

“May the perpetrator never see the light of day ever again. I hope this hefty sentence by the court has set a good example to all perpetrators who are planning to commit the same crime,” he added.