Durban – Life behind bars.
That was the sentence handed down to Melikhaya Fikizolo, 24, in the Pietermaritzburg High Court a short while ago.
Fikizolo pleaded guilty to killing a man he claimed murdered his mother in 2011.
He also pleaded guilty to raping the man’s older sister shortly after the murder.
Acting Judge Elsje-Marie Bezuidenhout sentenced him to life in prison for the murder and rape and 15 years for robbery. She rejected his version that he sought revenge for his mother’s murder.
In his plea Fikizolo told the court how he tracked down his mother’s lover using Facebook, by pretending to be a white woman and then arranging to meet him.
Fikizolo, who lives in the Western Cape, said he grew up in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape.
He told the court the deceased had dated his mother from 2009 to 2011 and that they would visit hotels in the area.
Fikizolo said he met the deceased of two occasions, and on the second occasion, the man killed his mother in his presence.
He said he escaped and told his family, who later found his mother’s body.
Fikizolo said he had been browsing Facebook years later when he came across the deceased’s profile and decided to friend him.
“I decided to create a fake profile to establish his location. I wanted to get revenge for what he did to my mother.”
He said he created a fake profile with the name Rihana and pretended to be a white woman.
Fikizolo travelled to Pietermaritzburg and on the day of the murder, June 5, he messaged the deceased, asking to meet him at the Shell garage in Prestbury.
Fikizolo said when the deceased arrived, he recognised him and when he walked away he followed him.
He then approached the man in his shop and confronted him about killing his mother.
Fikizolo said the deceased tried to attack him with pepper spray but he stabbed him until he was dead.
He said he hid the body in the back of the room and had to wait to leave because there were people around.
At this time the deceased’s 67-year-old sister arrived.
Fikizolo said she discovered the body of her brother and was about to scream.
He said he took her upstairs, raped her and fled, dropping his cellphone at the crime scene.
He said it was when he went to report his missing cellphone at the police station that he was questioned about the murder and arrested.
Fikizolo pleaded not guilty to two counts of robbery and another count of rape.
During arguments senior state advocate Candy Kander described the attack on the deceased as savage, deliberate and callous.
“The complainant, on discovery of her brother's body, would have been met with a gruesome scene characterised by massive amounts of blood.
“The deceased was stabbed 19 times to the left chest area and 31 times to left neck area, his jugular vein being severed.”
Kander argued that the accused’s behaviour that morning was abhorrent, saying “he cruelly tormented the complainant”.
“Not only did he rape her twice, but told her that he was going to kill her. He told her this while holding a drawn knife to her neck.”
Kander said gender-based violence had reached epidemic proportions and courts needed to to send out strong messages against such crimes.
IOL