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{{short description|South African serial killer}}
{{Nofootnotes|date=August 2008}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
'''Moses Shithole''' (November 17, 1964 ) is a [[South Africa]]n [[serial killer]] who committed the "ABC Murders", so named because they began in [[Atteridgeville]], continued in [[Boksburg, Gauteng|Boksburg]] and finished in Cleveland, a [[suburb]] of [[Johannesburg]].
{{Use South African English|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox serial killer
| name = Moses Sithole
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| alias = The ABC Killer<br>The South African Strangler<br> The Gauteng Killer
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1964|11|17}}
| birth_place = [[Vosloorus]], [[Gauteng]], [[South Africa]]
| sentence = [[Life imprisonment|2,410 years' imprisonment]]
| conviction = [[Murder]]<br>[[Rape]]<br>[[Robbery]]
| victims = 38–76
| beginyear = 1994
| endyear = 1995
| country = [[South Africa]]
| states = [[Atteridgeville]], [[Gauteng]], [[Johannesburg]]
| apprehended = 6 November 1995
| imprisoned = [[Mangaung Prison|Mangaung Correctional Centre]]
}}
'''Moses Sithole ''' (born 17 November 1964) is a South African [[serial killer]] and [[rapist]] who committed the '''ABC Murders''',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.iafrica.com/features/827627.htm|title=Worst criminals of SA|last=Kendal|first=Rebekah|date=3 May 2007|publisher=iafrica.com|access-date=3 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720084655/http://news.iafrica.com/features/827627.htm|archive-date=20 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> so named because they began in [[Atteridgeville]], continued in [[Boksburg, Gauteng|Boksburg]] and finished in [[Cleveland, Gauteng|Cleveland]], a [[suburb]] of [[Johannesburg]].

Sithole murdered at least 37 women and one toddler between 16 July 1994 and 6 November 1995. Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 years imprisonment and is currently incarcerated at [[Mangaung Prison|Mangaung Correctional Centre]] in [[Bloemfontein]].<ref name=":0" />


==Early life==
==Early life==
Sithole was born in [[Vosloorus]], a poor neighbourhood of [[Boksburg]] in [[Apartheid]]-era South Africa. When he was five, his father died, and his mother abandoned the family. Sithole and his siblings spent the next three years in an orphanage, where he later said they were mistreated. He ran away back to his mother, who sent him back to the orphanage. He eventually moved in with his older brother.
Moses Sithole was born on 17 November 1964 in [[Vosloorus]], a township near [[Boksburg]], [[Transvaal Province]] (now [[Gauteng]]). When he was five years old, his father died and his mother abandoned the family.<ref name="Greig2005">{{cite book|last=Greig|first=Charlotte|title=Evil Serial Killers: In the Minds of Monsters|year=2005|publisher=Barnes & Noble|location=New York|isbn=0760775664|pages=176, 177|url=https://archive.org/details/evilserialkiller00char|url-access=registration}}</ref> Sithole and his siblings spent the next three years in an [[Orphanage#South Africa|orphanage]], where he later said they were mistreated. By his own account, Sithole was arrested for [[rape]] in his teens and spent seven years in prison.<ref name="Greig2005" /> He later blamed his imprisonment for turning him into a murderer. He explained his crimes by saying that the women he murdered all reminded him of the women who had falsely accused him of rape years before.<ref name="Greig2005" />

He began [[rape|raping]] women in his twenties, claiming three victims before one finally testified against him. He was sent to prison, during which he himself was [[sexual assault|sexually assaulted]] by other prisoners. His murder spree began in 1994, shortly after his release.


==Murders==
==Murders==
Sithole appeared to be a mild-mannered individual to those around him. At the time of his crimes, he was managing a [[shell organization]], Youth Against Human Abuse, ostensibly devoted to the eradication of [[child abuse]]. After committing murders in Atteridgeville, near [[Pretoria]], Sithole moved his focus to Boksburg and eventually to [[Cleveland, Gauteng|Cleveland]]. By 1995, he had claimed over thirty victims, sparking nationwide panic. In some cases, he would later phone the victims' families for no other apparent reason than to taunt them.<ref>[[A&E Biography]] - Moses Sithole</ref> At one point, [[President of South Africa|President]] [[Nelson Mandela]] visited Boksburg in person to appeal for public assistance in apprehending the killer.<ref name="Greig2005" />
Sithole would gain access to victims by pretending to be a businessman and offering them work, going so far as to invent a fictional charity organization. Once he had gained their trust, he would offer to walk them through a [[veld]] (an Afrikaans word literally meaning 'field') to the "business headquarters" until they were out of sight and hearing range; he would then overpower, rape and strangle them. By 1995, he had claimed over 30 victims, igniting a nationwide panic.

Most of his victims were being interviewed for positions with Sithole's [[ersatz]] charity. Sithole would take them to remote fields, where he would beat, rape, and murder them. They were generally [[strangulation|strangled]] with their underwear. He once inflicted a head wound on the two-year-old son of one of his victims and left him to die from exposure.<ref name="Greig2005" />


==Capture==
==Capture==
In [[August 1995]], Sithole was identified as having been seen with one of the victims; police soon discovered details of his fake business and previous rape conviction. Panicked, he went on the run. He called journalist Tamsen de Beer, identified himself as the killer, and arranged a meeting to tell his story. De Beer notified the police, but Sithole sensed a trap at the meeting spot and ran. Police shot him twice when he charged them with a axe, wounding him before taking him into custody. He eventually confessed to the murders.
In August 1995, Sithole was identified as having been seen with one of the victims, but he disappeared shortly after [[South African Police Service|SAPS]] investigators learned details of his previous rape conviction. In October 1995, Sithole contacted South African journalist Tamsen de Beer and identified himself as the wanted murderer.<ref name="Greig2005" /> During a phone conversation with De Beer, he indicated that the killings were carried out in revenge for his unjust imprisonment and claimed 76 victims, twice as many as those reported. Finally, to prove his identity, Sithole gave directions to where one of the bodies had been left.<ref name="Greig2005"/> Local authorities subsequently cornered Sithole in [[Johannesburg]], shooting the suspect when he attacked a constable with a [[hatchet]]. Sithole was driven to the hospital, where he was found to be [[HIV]] positive and also tested positive for TB.<ref name="Greig2005" /><ref name="Biography">{{Cite episode |title= South African Strangler: Moses Sithole|url=http://www.biography.com/tv/notorious/episodes/south-african-strangler|series= Notorious|network= The Biography Channel}}</ref>


==Trial and imprisonment==
==Trial and imprisonment==
On [[December 5]], [[1997]], Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 years for the murders of 38 people committed between 1994 and 1995, along with 40 rapes and various lesser offenses. That adds up to 12 years for each of the 40 rapes, 50 years for each of the 38 murders, and another five years for each of the six robberies. His sentences do not run concurrently. There will be no possibility of [[parole]] for at least 930 years.
After De Beer was subpoenaed, she testified at the Pretoria High Court where her evidence was key in the conviction of Sithole. On 5 December 1997, Sithole was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment for each of the 38 murders, twelve years' imprisonment for each of the 40 rapes, and five years' imprisonment for each of six [[robbery|robberies]]. Since his [[Sentence (law)|sentences]] run consecutively, his total effective sentence is 2,410 years.


Justice David Curlewis ordered that Sithole would be required to serve at least 930 years before being eligible for [[parole]], making him eligible for parole at the age of 963. The judge also told Sithole that if [[Capital punishment in South Africa|capital punishment was still used]], he would have been sentenced to death. Sithole was incarcerated in [[C Max|C-Max]], the maximum security section of [[Pretoria Central Prison]]. He is currently incarcerated in [[Mangaung Prison|Mangaung Correctional Centre]] in [[Bloemfontein]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|first=Lucinda|last=Dordley|url= https://www.capetownetc.com/entertainment/the-bloody-history-of-south-africas-serial-killers/|title=The bloody history of South Africa's serial killers|website=capetownetc.com|date=31 October 2019|access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref>
He is incarcerated in C-Max, the maximum security section of [[Pretoria]] Central Prison. He was reported in 2000 to have [[AIDS]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==Victims==
Full list of Sithole's victims<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/moses-sithole-south-africa-s-worst-serial-killer/timeline | title=Moses Sithole: South Africa's Worst Serial Killer | publisher=Crime + Investigation | access-date=4 September 2019 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Number
! Name
! Sex
! Age
! Date of Murder
! Notes
|-
| 1
| Marina Monene Monama
| F
| 18
| 16 July 1994
|
|-
| 2
| Amanda Kebofile Thethe
| F
| 26
| 6 August 1994
| In a relationship with Sithole at the time
|-
| 3
| Joyce Thakane Mashabela
| F
| 32
| 19 August 1994
|
|-
| 4
| Refiloe Amanda Mokale
| F
| 24
| 7 September 1994
|
|-
| 5
| Rose Rebothile Mogotsi
| F
| 22
| 18 September 1994
|
|-
| 6
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| December 1994
| Discovered on 3 January 1995
|-
| 7
| Beauty Nuku Soko
| F
| 27
| January 1995
|
|-
| 8
| Sara Matlakala Mokono
| F
| 25
| 3 March 1995
|
|-
| 9
| Nikiwe Diko
| F
| 24
| 7 April 1995
| Was raped with a stick; discovered 24 June
|-
| 10
| Letta Nomthandazo Ndlangamandla
| F
| 25
| 12 April 1995
|
|-
| 11
| Sibusiso Nomthandazo Ndlangamandla
| M
| 2
| 20 April 1995
| Letta's son; incidental; injured in the head and died from exposure
|-
| 12
| Esther Moshibudi Mainetja
| F
| 29
| 12 May 1995
|
|-
| 13
| Granny Dimakatso Ramela
| F
| 21
| 23 May 1995
| Discovered 18 July
|-
| 14
| Elizabeth Granny Mathetsa
| F
| 19
| 25 May 1995
| Discovered 16 June
|-
| 15
| Mildred Ntiya Lepule
| F
| 28
| 30 May 1995
| Discovered 26 July
|-
| 16
| Francina Nomsa Sithebe
| F
| 25
| 13 June 1995
|
|-
| 17
| Ernestina Mohadi Mosebo
| F
| 30
| 22 June 1995
|
|-
| 18
| Elsie Khoti Masango
| F
| 25
| 14 July 1995
| Discovered 8 August
|-
| 19
| Josephine Mantsali Mlangeni
| F
| 25
| 17 July 1995
|
|-
| 20
| Oscarina Vuyokazi Jakalase
| F
| 30
| 8 August 1995
| Discovered 23 August
|-
| 21
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 9 August 1995
|
|-
| 22
| Makoba Tryphina Mogotsi
| F
| 26
| 15 August 1995
| Discovered 17 September
|-
| 23
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 28 August 1995
|
|-
| 24
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 30 August 1995
|
|-
| 25
| Nelisiwe Nontobeko Zulu
| F
| 26
| 4 September 1995
| Discovered 17 September
|-
| 26
| Amelia Dikamakatso Rapodile
| F
| 43
| 7 September 1995
|
|-
| 27
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 12 September 1995
|
|-
| 28
| Monica Gabisile Vilakazi
| F
| 31
| 12 September 1995
| Discovered 17 September
|-
| 29
| Hazel Nozipho Madikizela
| F
| 21
| 17 September 1995
|
|-
| 30
| Tsidi Malekoae Matela
| F
| 45
| 17 September 1995
|
|-
| 31
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 17 September 1995
|
|-
| 32
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 17 September 1995
|
|-
| 33
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 17 September 1995
|
|-
| 34
| Agnes Sibongile Mbuli
| F
| 20
| 17 September 1995
| Discovered 3 October
|-
| 35
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 9 October 1995
|
|-
| 36
| Beauty Ntombi Ndabeni
| F
| Unknown
| 10 October 1995
| Discovered 11 October
|-
| 37
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 14 October 1995
|
|-
| 38
| Unidentified victim
| F
| Unknown
| 6 November 1995
|
|}


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Elias Xitavhudzi]]
* [[Elias Xitavhudzi]] (serial killer in [[Atteridgeville]])
* [[List of serial killers in South Africa]]
* [[List of serial killers by number of victims]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Michael Newton, p207 ISBN 0-8160-3979-8
* [http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=448 A Time to Kill By Philip von Nekerk [[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]], Oct. 2000]
* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/moses_sithole/index.html Graveyard By Martin Ströhm - Crime Library]


* {{cite book | last = Newton | first = Michael | title = The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers | publisher = Checkmark Books | location = New York | year = 2000 | page = 207 | isbn = 0-8160-3979-8 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sithole, Moses}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/moses_sithole/index.html|title=Graveyard|last=Ströhm|first=Martin|publisher=[[Crime Library]]|access-date=2008-10-26}}
[[Category:South African serial killers|Sithole, Moses]]
* {{cite journal|last=von Nekerk |first=Philip |date=October 2000 |title=A Time to Kill |journal=[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]] |publisher=maximonline.com |url=http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=448 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217231427/http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=448 |archive-date=17 December 2007 }}
[[Category:South African rapists|Sithole, Moses]]
[[Category:South African prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Africa]]
[[Category:1964 births|Sithole, Moses]]
[[Category:Living people|Sithole, Moses]]
[[Category:HIV-positive people]]


==External links==
[[de:Moses Sithole]]
*{{IMDb title|1190899|Moses Sithole: The South African Strangler}} (Documentary)
[[fr:Moses Sithole]]

[[nl:Moses Sithole]]
[[fi:Moses Sithole]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sithole, Moses}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by South Africa]]
[[Category:People from Vosloorus]]
[[Category:People with HIV/AIDS]]
[[Category:Cannibals]]
[[Category:South African murderers of children]]
[[Category:South African people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:South African people convicted of rape]]
[[Category:South African serial killers]]
[[Category:Violence against women in South Africa]]

Latest revision as of 19:08, 27 May 2024

Moses Sithole
Born (1964-11-17) 17 November 1964 (age 59)
Vosloorus, Gauteng, South Africa
Other namesThe ABC Killer
The South African Strangler
The Gauteng Killer
Conviction(s)Murder
Rape
Robbery
Criminal penalty2,410 years' imprisonment
Details
Victims38–76
Span of crimes
1994–1995
CountrySouth Africa
State(s)Atteridgeville, Gauteng, Johannesburg
Date apprehended
6 November 1995
Imprisoned atMangaung Correctional Centre

Moses Sithole (born 17 November 1964) is a South African serial killer and rapist who committed the ABC Murders,[1] so named because they began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg.

Sithole murdered at least 37 women and one toddler between 16 July 1994 and 6 November 1995. Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 years imprisonment and is currently incarcerated at Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.[2]

Early life[edit]

Moses Sithole was born on 17 November 1964 in Vosloorus, a township near Boksburg, Transvaal Province (now Gauteng). When he was five years old, his father died and his mother abandoned the family.[3] Sithole and his siblings spent the next three years in an orphanage, where he later said they were mistreated. By his own account, Sithole was arrested for rape in his teens and spent seven years in prison.[3] He later blamed his imprisonment for turning him into a murderer. He explained his crimes by saying that the women he murdered all reminded him of the women who had falsely accused him of rape years before.[3]

Murders[edit]

Sithole appeared to be a mild-mannered individual to those around him. At the time of his crimes, he was managing a shell organization, Youth Against Human Abuse, ostensibly devoted to the eradication of child abuse. After committing murders in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, Sithole moved his focus to Boksburg and eventually to Cleveland. By 1995, he had claimed over thirty victims, sparking nationwide panic. In some cases, he would later phone the victims' families for no other apparent reason than to taunt them.[4] At one point, President Nelson Mandela visited Boksburg in person to appeal for public assistance in apprehending the killer.[3]

Most of his victims were being interviewed for positions with Sithole's ersatz charity. Sithole would take them to remote fields, where he would beat, rape, and murder them. They were generally strangled with their underwear. He once inflicted a head wound on the two-year-old son of one of his victims and left him to die from exposure.[3]

Capture[edit]

In August 1995, Sithole was identified as having been seen with one of the victims, but he disappeared shortly after SAPS investigators learned details of his previous rape conviction. In October 1995, Sithole contacted South African journalist Tamsen de Beer and identified himself as the wanted murderer.[3] During a phone conversation with De Beer, he indicated that the killings were carried out in revenge for his unjust imprisonment and claimed 76 victims, twice as many as those reported. Finally, to prove his identity, Sithole gave directions to where one of the bodies had been left.[3] Local authorities subsequently cornered Sithole in Johannesburg, shooting the suspect when he attacked a constable with a hatchet. Sithole was driven to the hospital, where he was found to be HIV positive and also tested positive for TB.[3][5]

Trial and imprisonment[edit]

After De Beer was subpoenaed, she testified at the Pretoria High Court where her evidence was key in the conviction of Sithole. On 5 December 1997, Sithole was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment for each of the 38 murders, twelve years' imprisonment for each of the 40 rapes, and five years' imprisonment for each of six robberies. Since his sentences run consecutively, his total effective sentence is 2,410 years.

Justice David Curlewis ordered that Sithole would be required to serve at least 930 years before being eligible for parole, making him eligible for parole at the age of 963. The judge also told Sithole that if capital punishment was still used, he would have been sentenced to death. Sithole was incarcerated in C-Max, the maximum security section of Pretoria Central Prison. He is currently incarcerated in Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.[2]

Victims[edit]

Full list of Sithole's victims[6]

Number Name Sex Age Date of Murder Notes
1 Marina Monene Monama F 18 16 July 1994
2 Amanda Kebofile Thethe F 26 6 August 1994 In a relationship with Sithole at the time
3 Joyce Thakane Mashabela F 32 19 August 1994
4 Refiloe Amanda Mokale F 24 7 September 1994
5 Rose Rebothile Mogotsi F 22 18 September 1994
6 Unidentified victim F Unknown December 1994 Discovered on 3 January 1995
7 Beauty Nuku Soko F 27 January 1995
8 Sara Matlakala Mokono F 25 3 March 1995
9 Nikiwe Diko F 24 7 April 1995 Was raped with a stick; discovered 24 June
10 Letta Nomthandazo Ndlangamandla F 25 12 April 1995
11 Sibusiso Nomthandazo Ndlangamandla M 2 20 April 1995 Letta's son; incidental; injured in the head and died from exposure
12 Esther Moshibudi Mainetja F 29 12 May 1995
13 Granny Dimakatso Ramela F 21 23 May 1995 Discovered 18 July
14 Elizabeth Granny Mathetsa F 19 25 May 1995 Discovered 16 June
15 Mildred Ntiya Lepule F 28 30 May 1995 Discovered 26 July
16 Francina Nomsa Sithebe F 25 13 June 1995
17 Ernestina Mohadi Mosebo F 30 22 June 1995
18 Elsie Khoti Masango F 25 14 July 1995 Discovered 8 August
19 Josephine Mantsali Mlangeni F 25 17 July 1995
20 Oscarina Vuyokazi Jakalase F 30 8 August 1995 Discovered 23 August
21 Unidentified victim F Unknown 9 August 1995
22 Makoba Tryphina Mogotsi F 26 15 August 1995 Discovered 17 September
23 Unidentified victim F Unknown 28 August 1995
24 Unidentified victim F Unknown 30 August 1995
25 Nelisiwe Nontobeko Zulu F 26 4 September 1995 Discovered 17 September
26 Amelia Dikamakatso Rapodile F 43 7 September 1995
27 Unidentified victim F Unknown 12 September 1995
28 Monica Gabisile Vilakazi F 31 12 September 1995 Discovered 17 September
29 Hazel Nozipho Madikizela F 21 17 September 1995
30 Tsidi Malekoae Matela F 45 17 September 1995
31 Unidentified victim F Unknown 17 September 1995
32 Unidentified victim F Unknown 17 September 1995
33 Unidentified victim F Unknown 17 September 1995
34 Agnes Sibongile Mbuli F 20 17 September 1995 Discovered 3 October
35 Unidentified victim F Unknown 9 October 1995
36 Beauty Ntombi Ndabeni F Unknown 10 October 1995 Discovered 11 October
37 Unidentified victim F Unknown 14 October 1995
38 Unidentified victim F Unknown 6 November 1995

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kendal, Rebekah (3 May 2007). "Worst criminals of SA". iafrica.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  2. ^ a b Dordley, Lucinda (31 October 2019). "The bloody history of South Africa's serial killers". capetownetc.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Greig, Charlotte (2005). Evil Serial Killers: In the Minds of Monsters. New York: Barnes & Noble. pp. 176, 177. ISBN 0760775664.
  4. ^ A&E Biography - Moses Sithole
  5. ^ "South African Strangler: Moses Sithole". Notorious. The Biography Channel.
  6. ^ "Moses Sithole: South Africa's Worst Serial Killer". Crime + Investigation. Retrieved 4 September 2019.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moses_Sithole&oldid=1225959243"