DUBBED THE SOUTH AFRICAN TED BUNDY, MOSES SITHOLE IS THE COUNTRY’S WORST SERIAL KILLER
Moses Sithole was often described as a handsome and charming man. At ease socially and with an intelligent demeanour, the women he approached with promises of a job had no reason to be suspicious of him. But he was a monster hiding in plain sight, who would eventually be charged with 38 murders and 40 rapes.
EARLY LIFE
Sitholewasbornin1964,nearBoksburg, inwhatwasthentheTransvaalProvince of apartheid South Africa. One of five children, his already impoverished childhood was worsened following the death of his father. His mother found herself unable to support the children, and abandoned them at a local police station. They were placed in an orphanage in KwaZulu-Natal, but systematic abuse caused the teenage Sithole to run away, seeking refuge first with his older brother, before going to work in the Johannesburg gold mines. Sithole was sexually active from an early age, and it has been surmised his mother’s abandonment might have played a role in his later violent behaviour towards women.
THE CRIMES
Sithole’s first recorded rape occurred in September 1987, when he attacked 29-year-old Patrica Khumalo. It’s believed he raped at least two more women, before assaulting Buyiswa Doris Swakamisa in February 1989. She made a police report that resulted in Sithole’s arrest, and later that year, he was jailed for six years. He maintained his innocence and was released early for good behaviour in 1993.
It is not known how soon after release that he began his rape and killing spree but, in the period between January and April 1995, in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, four bodies of young black women were discovered. They had been strangled and raped. When the newspapers became aware of the similarities between the killings, the police were forced to admit a serial killer might be operating in the area. But, in a society inured to violence, the media interest was relatively short-lived. However, the discovery of a number of bodies in Pretoria over the next few months – all sharing the same gruesome pattern of having been raped, tied up, and strangled with their underwear – caused public fear.
On 17 July 1995, a witness saw a man acting suspiciously while in the company of a woman. When the witness went over to investigate, he discovered a body, but he’d been too far away to be able to identify the killer. A special investigating team was established within the Pretoria Murder and Robbery Unit, in an effort to establish whether there was a pattern, but the method of attack varied to such an extent, it was impossible to state with certainty that one killer was responsible. But as more victims were identified, and the chronology of deaths became apparent, there was clear evidence the killer was evolving his murder technique to extrac
