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A 22-year-old serial rapist and murderer has been sentenced to multiple life terms for a series of violent crimes committed in the Amersfoort area between 2021 and 2023.
According to SAPS Mpumalanga, Simphiwe Xolani Mkhwanazi was sentenced by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court sitting in Amersfoort on Friday, 5 June 2026.
The conviction followed a lengthy investigation into several incidents involving rape, kidnapping, robbery and murder.
Evidence before the court revealed that in July 2021, Mkhwanazi robbed two women at knifepoint near China Section before forcing one of them to a nearby location where he raped her.
In a separate incident the following month, he allegedly entered a residence armed with a knife, threatened family members and raped a woman in the presence of her relatives before stealing household items.
The court also heard that in June 2023, a woman was attacked at her home after returning from a local tavern. She was allegedly abducted and taken to an abandoned house where she was raped.
In August 2023, Mkhwanazi was linked to the murder of a woman who was last seen leaving a tavern with him. After she was reported missing, police investigations led to the discovery of her body buried in a shallow grave.
Following his conviction on 27 May 2026, the court handed down the following sentences:
- Life imprisonment for murder.
- Life imprisonment for rape.
- Twenty years' imprisonment for two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
- Twenty years' imprisonment for rape.
- Fifteen years' imprisonment for two additional rape convictions.
- Five years' imprisonment for two counts of kidnapping.
- Five years' imprisonment for defeating or obstructing the administration of justice.
The court further ordered that Mkhwanazi's name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders and declared him unfit to work with children.
Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, welcomed the sentence and praised the investigators, prosecution team and judiciary for securing the conviction.
"We hope that this sentence will send a strong message that perpetrators of violent crimes, particularly those committed against women and vulnerable members of society, will face the full might of the law," said Mkhwanazi.