Precious Ramabulana’s killer sentenced to life behind bars

Precious Ramabulana’s killer, Aubrey Manaka, on Friday was sentenced to life in prison by the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane for the murder of Capricorn TVET College student Precious Ramabulana in 2019.

“Taking into consideration the evidence and the arguments presented in totality, in my view, the aggravating factors in this case far outweigh the mitigating factors. The court finds there are no substantial and compelling circumstances that justify a deviation from prescribing of sentences,” Judge Francis Kganyago said.

Manaka was handed eight years for robbery with intent to rape, two life terms for both rape and murder and 15 years for robbery with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.

Judge Kganyago stated that Manaka stabbed Ramabulana to make sure that she was permanently removed from the earth.

“These are the deeds of the evil person and the deceased has died a gruesome death. Women have the right to walk freely and society requires protection from the courts from people like Manaka in order to gain confidence in the criminal justice system.

“Precious was 21 years of age at the time of her death and still had a life ahead of her. When the crime was committed, Precious Ramabulana was defenseless and unarmed therefore a suitable sentence must be imposed to deter future offenders,” he said.

On Thursday the court heard the defence’s arguments for mitigation of sentence. The state argued for aggravation of sentence with Ramabulana’s aunt, Mavis Sethodimela, taking the stand.

Manaka, 29, on Wednesday, pleaded guilty to charges of rape, murder and robbery at the start of his trial.

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Ramabulana, 21, was stabbed 90 times and raped while bleeding on 24 November 2019 in her off-campus room in Mokomene outside Polokwane.

Her death sparked an outcry across the country with President Cyril Ramaphosa visiting her family in Limpopo.

During court proceedings on Thursday, Manaka confessed that he stabbed Ramabulana before and after raping her. He asked the court to hand down a lighter sentence, saying he had a four-year-old daughter he supported financially.

Manaka also apologised to Ramabulana’s family and the public, saying he understood the pain he had caused.

However, on Friday Judge Kganyago said he was not convinced that Manaka was remorseful.

The state said Ramabulana’s post-mortem revealed she had 90 incisions from stab wounds by a knife.

In aggravation of sentence, the state advocate, Trott Mphahlele, called Sethodimela who testified about the impact the death had on Ramabulana’s mother. Sethodimela said the student’s mother was rejecting family members and wanted to be alone all the time due to the murder.

Manaka was arrested at his parent’s home in Nyakelang village, Botlokwa, on 28 November 2019 following an intensive manhunt by Crime Intelligence, the Hawks and detectives.

His arrest came when he was found in possession of Ramabulana’s cellphone, bloodstained clothes and a knife.

Police investigations also revealed that Manaka was involved in the rape case of a four-year-old girl in 2014.

He was subsequently charged with rape, but the case was withdrawn due to a lack of evidence.