Man who raped and murdered nine-year-old stepdaughter to serve two life sentences

Bongani Thokozani Dlamini was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of his nine-year-old stepdaughter in January.

National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) spokesperson Natasha Kara said: “Dlamini was in a love relationship with the girl’s mother and they lived together in the Efefe area of Nongoma. On the day of the incident, Dlamini was returning from a funeral at a nearby homestead when he met the child en route to the shop.

“He lured her to an abandoned homestead where he raped and strangled her. On realising that she was dead, he dumped her body in a nearby pit toilet. Her body was recovered a week later and the cause of death established as asphyxia – manual strangulation.”

Dlamini said in his plea that he strangled the child because he feared that she would report him to her mother. He said that after dumping her body, he returned home and pretended as if nothing had happened.

The state sought a harsh sentence for the crime. Senior state advocate Mbongeni Mthembu handed in a victim impact statement compiled by the child’s mother and facilitated by court preparation officer Nokuvela Zulu.

Kara said: “In her statement, the mother mentioned that she was in a relationship with Dlamini for eight years and never expected him to commit such acts. She said that the gruesome image of her child’s body dumped in the toilet would never leave her mind.”

The director of public prosecutions in KZN, advocate Elaine Zungu said: “We welcome both the conviction and sentence in this matter. The accused had no justifiable reason to commit such an abhorrent offence. He was no doubt a father figure in the child’s life. The fact that the accused pleaded guilty does not diminish his actions. Well done to those involved in this successful prosecution.”

(Compiled by Sandisiwe Mbhele)

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