Ramabulana’s killer told court it was ‘love at first sight’
Aubrey Manaka (29) told the court that he stabbed Precious Ramabulana several times so she would die and not be able to identify him.
POLOKWANE – The Limpopo High Court: Polokwane Division earlier today, June 11, sentenced Aubrey Manaka (29) to eight years for house breaking with intent to rape, life imprisonment for murder, life imprisonment for rape and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances after he pleaded guilty to all four counts.
Read more: Two life sentences for Precious Ramabulana’s killer
Manaka raped and murdered Capricorn TVET College student, Precious Ramabulana (21) on November 24, 2019. In his plea, Manaka said it was love at first sight when he first saw Ramabulana dancing with her friend on a veranda. He then went to watch soccer and drink alcohol before knocking on Ramabulana’s door in the early hours of the morning and alleged that she was scared to open the door.
“Manaka then told the court that he decided to forcefully open the window and gained entrance, afterwhich the two wrestled. He then stabbed her several times with a knife before raping her and repeated,” the Director of Public Prosecutions’ regional spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said.
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Manaka left the scene with Ramabulana’s cellphones and during his closing plea, apologised to her family, friends and the community and asked the court to be merciful on him.
He further told the court that he stabbed Ramabulana several times so she would die and not be able to identify him.
During proceedings, Ramabulana’s aunt testified about the impact the death had on the mother of the deceased as she is now rejecting family members and is wanting to be alone all the time. She requested the court to take into consideration the nature of the offence and concluded by saying “we saw all the wounds with our eyes”.
During sentencing, Malabi-Dzhangi said Judge Justice Maake Kganyago said the accused 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 require 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 life ahead of her. When the crime was committed, Precious Ramabulana was defenceless and unarmed, therefore a suitable sentence must be imposed to deter future offenders”, he said.
Malabi-Dzhangi said the NPA welcomes the sentence and hopes it will serve as a deterrent to other rapists and murderers who intend of violating the vulnerable.
