David Thabo Simelane

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David Thabo Simelane (* 1956 in Swaziland ) is a serial killer who was sentenced to death for the murder of 28 women. The number of his victims may also be 45.

Life

Series of murders

Simelane dropped out of school even though his uncle tried to get him to go to secondary school.

He testified in court that he had been sentenced to six years ' imprisonment for robbing and raping a woman . Then, after his release in 1998, he set out to seek revenge by starting a series of murders. This series of murders lasted from the late 1990s until 2001 , when police arrested him on the basis of evidence from the local population.

Simelane made women go into the woods with him. He tied up his victims there and used sexual violence against them , only to strangle or stab them with bare hands if they resisted too much. He also beheaded many of them , either before or after death. Simelane often stole money and valuables from the victims in order to participate in games of chance. Several pregnant women were among the victims.

Investigations

Shepherds looking for a runaway cow discovered parts of the body in the Usuthu pulp forest in Malkern and notified the authorities, who soon asked six forensic experts from South Africa for assistance .

Simelane was arrested in April 2001 on a street near the graves and led the police to additional graves, so that a total of 45 bodies were found. The bodies of four babies were also among the dead. Because of the advanced decomposition, Simelane was charged with 34 murders.

Trial, sentencing and imprisonment

During the trial, he was found guilty of 28 counts of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. He showed no remorse for his actions during the process. After Simelane appealed to the highest court in 2011, it was ruled that the trial was unduly long, but the death penalty was upheld.

Simelane has been serving his sentence in isolation at the Matsapha Maximum Correctional Center and has only had contact with two other death row inmates and one clergyman. He couldn't even attend his mother's funeral. He has not received any visits from his relatives since his conviction (as of 2019), visits from media representatives have been refused by the authorities.

The death penalty has not been carried out in the country since 1983. For many years there has not been an executioner who could carry out the death penalty. In 2012 there were attempts to appoint a new executioner, but the appointment process remained unsuccessful. In 2017, a United Nations moratorium on the execution of the death penalty was put into effect, so the death penalty is still a law in the country, but it can no longer be carried out. The king has the right to pardon and commute a death penalty to life imprisonment. It has been common practice to date that a life sentence is waived after 25 years. Neither his relatives nor the citizens and autocrats of Ngcoseni, where Simelane comes from, have so far supported a pardon, or have indicated that he will be accepted there after a possible release.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Linda Jele: David SIMELANE gets death penalty, to be hanged Swaziland News. Retrieved June 28, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Bodwa Mbingo: Eswatini Observer. Retrieved June 28, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Simelane, David Thabo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swaziland serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Swaziland