Sifiso Mkhwanazi admits to killing sex workers, but denies rape charges

The man accused of killing six sex workers in Johannesburg has pleaded guilty after admitting to committing the crimes.

Sifiso Mkhwanazi appeared at the High Court in Johannesburg, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, on Friday.

He faces a range of charges, including murder, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of an unlicenced firearm and ammunition in the ongoing legal proceedings.

Charges dispute

During the court proceedings, Mkhwanazi, through his lawyer, admitted to killing the sex workers.

However, the accused denied the rape charges against him.

Speaking to eNCA, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwana said the state had informed the court that there were attempts to negotiate a plea bargain, but discussions collapsed after Mkhwanazi contested the assertion that the murders were premeditated.

“Those were in dispute as they were also presented in court so now which means as the state we have to lead evidence to support those allegations. We remain confident as the state that we are in a position to lead evidence.”

Mjonondwana confirmed that the state would call witnesses, including the 21-year-old’s father, to testify in the trial next week.

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“The matter has been postponed to Monday for us to call witnesses to support the allegations of premeditation and the fact that the accused is alleged to have raped all the deceased people in this matter,” she said.

“We have a number of witnesses, including the South African Police Service [Saps] and the father of the accused person before court,” the NPA spokesperson added.

While Mjonondwana could not confirm how long the case would take, she, however, indicated that the trial would be shorter due to Mkhwanazi’s guilty plea on the six counts of murder.

“We cannot give a precise period to say the case will go on for this long, however, as the court indicated we are grateful both the state advocate and the defence team, as soon as they realised the negotiations did not materialise, proactively prepared section 220 admissions,” she said, adding that “the court would only hear evidence of those matters that are in dispute”.

Grim discovery

Mkhwanazi was arrested in October 2022, after the discovery of the six Zimbabwean sex workers at his father’s panel beating workshop in Selby, central Johannesburg.

The decomposed bodies were found after police were called to the building due to a foul smell that was emanating from one of the rooms.

One of the women was fatally shot in the head, while the remaining five were allegedly choked to death.

According to the police, two of the victims were pregnant.

Mkhwanazi was previously arrested on rape in June 2021, but the charge was later withdrawn.

The suspect reportedly spent 10 months in prison.

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