Leigh Matthews’ killer Donovan Moodley denied parole

It has not been a good month for convicted killer Donovan Moodley, who was denied parole again on Wednesday.

Moodley received a life sentence for kidnapping and murdering student Leigh Matthews in 2004.

The parole news has been welcomed by NPO Women for Change, which has been vocal about its stance on the matter.

“He needs to serve his complete sentences for the kidnapping and murder of Leigh Matthews. If we want to change society, it’s overdue to hold murderers accountable,” said the organisation on Wednesday.

The parole board’s decision comes less than a week after the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg dismissed his application to have his parole hearing interdicted.

Moodley had asked the court to interdict the five respondents in his case, including the justice minister and department of correctional services, from proceeding with the parole hearing, pending the determination of whether they were in contempt of the court order granted in December.

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Judge Stuart Wilson had ordered that at least two weeks before Thursday’s hearing proceeded, Moodley is to be “afforded access to all the material that will be placed before the parole board” and to “all the applicable parole board manuals, practice directives, policies and other material relevant to the process” by which the parole board will consider his fitness for parole.

In his application, Moodley argued he had not been given access to the relevant material and that there was material missing from the victim offender dialogue report he had been provided with.

Moodley’s application dismissed

In his judgment, Judge Wilson said in part: “The mere failure to provide these documents two weeks in advance of the hearing does not, however, mean that the respondents are in contempt of the 15 December 2022 order, as Mr. Moodley claims. The documents Mr. Moodley requires, and to which he is entitled, were not specifically referred to in my order.

“Mr. Moodley’s entitlement to them arises from the fact that they have been referred to in another document which is specifically referred to in the order. In these circumstances, it is not clear to me that the failure to provide the documents two weeks in advance of the hearing could constitute anything more than a very technical breach of the order, if that. On the information contained in Mr. Moodley’s founding affidavit, it is plainly not a wilful breach of the 15 December 2022 order.”

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The judge last Friday dismissed his application and ordered all parties to pay their own costs.

Moodley kidnapped Matthews outside Bond University in Sandton, in 2004, and demanded a ransom from her family for her safe return.

She was killed despite the Matthews family having paid at least R50 000 in ransom. Her naked body was discovered by a municipal worker in the veld.

Moodley was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and extortion.

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