Wellington Kachidza is a 27-year-old man from Zimbabwe who has been living in South Africa illegally, which is one of the charges he was accused of. Kachidza appeared in the Gauteng High Court, where Judge Hennie De Vos sentenced him to life in prison for robbery, murder, and rape

Two years of his sentence are due to his status. The rest of his life sentence is due to eight counts of murder, eight kidnapping charges, three counts of rape, and eight robbery convictions.

Kachidza claims that he was previously dating a Malawian woman, and after he decided to break up with her when she fell pregnant, she allegedly used one of his t-shirts and muti to curse him to have bad luck.

Kachidza’s defence in multiple crime case

Kachidza apologized to the victim’s families and claimed that he did not mean to commit the crimes that he did. He also blamed his lack of a father figure in his formative years for his behaviour.

The convict pleaded for leniency, but Judge De Vos was not convinced, and said that he does not believe that Kachidza has displayed remorse for his actions. “It is the responsibility of this court not only to South Africans but to the world to make sure citizens are protected against people like him, hence there should be no hesitation from ensuring that the harshest sentence should be imposed,” De Vos said.

South Africans reaction to Kachidza’s sentence

@Modisaotsile__ remarked:

“Not this guy pleading for leniency, saying, that he was young and that his girlfriend had used muti on him.”

@SegopotjeNkadi3 said:

“Justice has been served and will prevail.”

@Cynicalunikorn asked:

“How is it possible to be this evil?”

@Liya_Bukwa shared:

“@CyrilRamaphosa you need to step up or step out. We are fed up.”

@owa_flopo believes:

“This is chilling stuff irrespective of which country he’s from.”

In earlier news about this case, Wellington Kachidza gave a shocking account of his modus operandi during a pre-sentencing hearing in the North Gauteng High Court in Tshwane.

Kachidza, 27, reportedly pleaded guilty to six murders, eight abductions, and three sexual assaults last week, among a host of charges. The court accepted his plea and convicted him on 34 counts in total.

He detailed that he lured his targets from their jobs under false pretences, claiming to need help to fetch a vehicle in Eersterust, 15 km east of the Tshwane city centre, as he did not possess a driving licence.