Daily Sun (July 26 2013)- HE WAS facing charges of rape, murder, kidnapping and robbery which included the rape of 34 minors.
But in a final cowardly act he chose to avoid facing the law, the relatives of the victims and the people of Mzansi. IN THE DARK OF NIGHT, HE ATTACHED BLANKETS TO THE BARS OF THE PRISON CELL - AND HANGED HIMSELF.
"We welcome his self-imposed death sentence," said Vincentia Ngobese, spokeswoman for Women and Men against Child Abuse. Commenting yesterday on the suicide of serial child rapist Sifiso Makhubo (42), she said: "Society is better off with this rapist dead."
She said Makhubo was out on parole on previous offences when he targeted his 36 victims. He has tried to kill himself before. A source at the Joburg Medium A Correctional Facility told Daily Sun he had recently noticed that Makhubo had scratches on his neck. "I asked him what happened but he didn't answer," said the source.
"He kept to himself. He played chess against himself."
"Makhubo looked sickly and stressed. He was unhappy after he came back from court last Monday. His mum was there but his wife did not show up," he said. He was meant to appear in the South Gauteng High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court yesterday morning.
According to Gauteng Correctional Services spokesman Ofentse Morwane, Makhubo hanged himself on Wednesday night. "Preliminary investigations show that he used a blanket to make a rope. The Mondeor SAPS is investigating his death," he told Daily Sun. Makhubo was facing 122 charges including rape, attempted murder, murder, kidnapping and robbery. The crimes were committed in the Kathorus area, 30 minutes east of Joburg, between 2006 until his arrest in 2011.
He infected some of his victims with HIV/Aids and was charged with attempted murder through HIV infection. Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Phindi Louw said the prosecution was disappointed that resources and time used to prepare for the case had gone to waste.
"We had prepared the victims to face this monster. It would have represented closure for them if he had faced the music," she said. The case was expected to set a precedent as Makhubo was expected to be the first person found guilty of murder as a result of infecting people with HIV/Aids.Louw said Makhubo's victims would be given counselling to deal with the trauma.
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