Sex workers protest outside the Johannesburg Magistrates court as the man accused of murdering 6 sexworkers appears on murder charges, 11 October 2022. Picture: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
The case against a man who was arrested on Sunday after police discovered six decomposing body at a building in Johannesburg Central has been postponed to 18 October.
The suspect made his first appearance at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on charges of six counts of murder on Tuesday.
The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the suspect is only facing one count of murder, instead of six as was earlier stated by the police.
Mjonondwane added that once further investigations are complete, more charges may be added.
The NPA also clarified that the suspect is 20 years old.
A group of sex workers turned up at the court, rallying for their protection in their line of work.
The man was arrested on Sunday after police found six decomposing bodies in a makeshift panel beater in Johannesburg central.
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The bodies are believed to be those of sex workers who had gone missing since June around the same area.
Organisations representing sex workers bodies said this should wake the government to decriminalise sex work, and said this incident will allow other sex workers to share their stories.
Police made the grisly discovery after the workers at the building were concerned over a foul smell coming from one of the rooms.
Upon searching the room, that is when they discovered one female body. This led to the arrest of the suspect who stayed in the building.
The same female whose body was found in the room was reportedly last seen in the company of the suspect. The clothing found on the body matched those of a description in a missing person’s case.
After questioning the suspect, the police went back to the abandoned building at Sprinz Avenue, where they discovered five more bodies outside the building in later stages of decomposition.
Some of the bodies were found in the back of a van, another hidden under a pile of garbage and another one found stuffed in a waste bin, all of the bodies were reportedly found tied.
People who worked in the area and had interactions with the suspect described him as an introvert, and found it difficult to think he was accused of having committed such a heinous crime.
They said he was a loner who did not speak to anyone. Even the car washer where he used to take his car to.
None of the people ever saw him walking in the building that used to be a boots manufacturing factory, with any females or anyone.
Speaking to SABC, the suspect’s father said he saw on CCTV footage that it was his son who had committed the murder.
“I feel like I want to disown him really, I do not even want anybody to attach me to him because things of that character are far away from me,” said the father.
He said the fact that he killed six people showed that his actions were intentional. He vowed not to support him through the trial.
The father said he tried his best as a parent to raise his son in a way to avoid him turning to a life of crime, but said he was matured and responsible for his own actions.
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