10 Senseless Crimes That Highlight South Africa’s Crime Crisis

I was going to write about the ten most incredible experiences you can have in South Africa, like stargazing above the numerous shipwrecks littering the coastline, coming face-to-face with a great white shark, or discovering the history of modern humans.

But after reading about yet another senseless murder that rocked the country, just 13.7 miles (22 kilometers) from where I live, I realize again that now is not the time to wax poetic about this country. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the horrors happening here every single day. The situation in this country is completely out of hand, mainly thanks to a hapless government out to line their stomachs and pockets, the safety of South African residents be damned.

In addition to women in rural areas killing their children and themselves out of desperation and hunger because they don’t get the help and resources they need and deserve, around 84 people are murdered in South Africa every day. There is no protection for South Africans. There is no safe haven. There is just fear and suffering and death. To make matters worse, death often comes at the hands of parents and partners who were supposed to love and protect their spouses and their children.

This is not another list of serial killers or worst-ever crimes. It is the harrowing story of the shocking downfall of a country at the hands of criminals and plain evil people who know there are simply no consequences for violently ending the lives of innocent people. It is ten descriptions of a day in the life of ordinary adults and children that ended horrifically, all because violence and chaos reign here. It is a last-gasp effort to turn global attention towards yet another country in Africa where the heartbreaking cries of suffering and grief are ignored.

As you read the entries on this list, take a moment to reflect on the stark facts. These were living, breathing human beings going about their day, dreaming about the future, working, playing, going to school, gathering with family, celebrating, and being happy.

Until they weren’t.

Related: Ten Infamous Unsolved Cases of Children Meeting Untimely Ends

10 Chevonne Rusch

On May 11, 2022, Stefan van Niekerk walked into a Primrose clinic in Germiston, Gauteng. He was carrying his fiancé’s daughter, two-year-old Chevonne Rusch. Doctors and nurses rushed to help and saw that the toddler was not moving. As they examined the little girl, they realized that Chevonne had been abused and beaten to the point where they could do nothing to save her. She died shortly afterward, and Stefan was arrested.

Chevonne’s little body had 49 bruises, and her cause of death was listed as bleeding on the brain. While it seemed like a clear-cut case and that Stefan would be imprisoned for the murder, things were about to get much worse. Chevonne’s mother, Rochelle Botha, was arrested not long after the news spread of Chevonne’s murder. On November 17, 2023, both Stefan and Rochelle were convicted of murder, sexual assault, child neglect, and child abuse.

Rochelle and Stefan were handed a mere 25-year prison sentence, even though she did horrific things to her child and allowed her fiancé to do the same.

Rochelle, who is only 24 years old, showed no remorse for being complicit in the murder of her blonde, blue-eyed little girl. Instead, she quickly adapted to life in prison and joined a gang that bullies other prisoners. She is also still using drugs, just as she did when she was supposed to protect her child.^[1]

9 Uyinene Mrwetyana

Nineteen-year-old University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana went to the post office on an ordinary August day in 2019. She wanted to pick up a parcel she had been expecting. Despite receiving a notification that her parcel was ready, the post office attendant, Luyanda Botha, who worked at the Clareinch post office, told the young woman she would have to return later to get her parcel because it was not ready for collection.

Uyinene was unaware that the post office would close at 1 p.m., but Luyanda planned it that way. He told his colleague she could leave earlier and then waited for Uyinene to return.

When she arrived at the post office, Luyanda let her in and locked the door behind them. He overpowered Uyinene and raped her, after which he tried to strangle her. When he failed in strangling her to death, he hit her over the head with a 4.4-pound (2-kilogram) weight. He left her body in the post office, returning the next morning to retrieve it. He drove to a nearby field where he dumped Uyinene’s body and set it alight. Uyinene’s family meanwhile reported her as missing when she did not return home the following day. Her burnt body was discovered nine days after she went missing.

Luyanda Botha was arrested, and he subsequently confessed to the murder. He was handed three life sentences on November 15, 2019. Yet he will still be eligible for parole after serving 25 years of his sentence.

Uyinene’s horrific death led to a massive public outcry that eventually resulted in a University of Cape Town shutdown. More protests also led to President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing that sex offenders would receive harsher punishments. Still, this has done nothing to stem the wave of violence that continues to engulf the country.^[2]

8 Bokgabo Poo

As of the posting of this list, it has been nearly 700 days since the murder of four-year-old Bokgabo “Connie” Poo. The little girl went missing from Masoleng Park in Wattville, Benoni, on October 10, 2022. The following day, Leah Khoza, a resident of Tamboville, which is just over a half mile (1 kilometer) away from Wattville, was sweeping her yard when she noticed something sticking up from the ground. When she looked closer, she saw that it was a child’s leg with the toes pointed up.

The search for Bokgabo ended when a mutilated body was discovered just a few meters from Khoza’s house. Bokgabo’s parents buried what was left of their bubbly little girl three weeks later. Some of Bokgabo’s body parts remain missing.

By the time the funeral took place, a suspect had already been arrested for Bokgabo’s murder. Ntokozo Zikhali was out on bail for a pending rape case when he appeared in court for the murder of Bokgabo. He was charged with kidnapping, rape, murder, violating a corpse, and defeating the ends of justice. Zikhali confessed to the crime, and the prosecutor (the state) presented video footage in court that showed Zikahli and Bokgabo walking alongside one another on the day she went missing. Zikhali also pointed out the scene where some of Bokgabo’s body parts were found.

Yet, in August 2023, the Gauteng High Court dismissed all the charges against Zikhali, rejecting his confession and all evidence against him. The court found that Zikhali had been coerced into confessing and that he had not been read his rights properly when he pointed out the above-mentioned scene.

In the same week, however, Zikhali was found guilty of raping a nine-year-old girl in Tamboville in 2021 (the case he was out on bail for). He was handed a life sentence. To date, no one else has been arrested for the murder of Bokgabo Poo.^[3]

7 Tazne van Wyk

Eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk left her home in Ravensmead, Cape Town, on February 7, 2020, to buy sweets at a shop just a few meters away. She never returned. Eyewitnesses who saw Tazne that day before she disappeared said she was walking with a neighbor, Moehydian Pangaker, who was known to many people in the area.

Pangaker was a nomad who never stayed in one place for too long. By the time the community realized that Pangaker had done something to Tazne, they could not find him. An angry crowd later heard that Pangaker was hiding out at a school and immediately went there to confront him. It was only several days later that Pangaker was actually found and apprehended. He was no longer in Ravensmead but in Cradock in the Eastern Cape. Pangaker denied that he had done anything wrong, but it did not take long for the police to get the truth out of him.

Pangaker led the police to where he had dumped Tazne’s body along the N1 highway near Worcester. He had raped the young girl, beaten her to death, and cut off her left hand. It was soon revealed that Pangaker had previous convictions that ran between 1981 and 2004. He had sexually assaulted other children, beaten and raped his own daughter repeatedly, and also raped his granddaughter. He continued assaulting and raping both his daughter and her granddaughter until 2019.

Pangaker ultimately faced 27 charges, including kidnapping, murder, rape, incest, and sexual assault. Video footage presented in court showed Tazne getting out of a car with Pangaker at a gas station near Worcester. There was no sign of fear or apprehension from Tazne, which showed she did not know the grave danger she was in, mainly because she trusted Pangaker.

Pangaker ultimately received nine life sentences for his crimes. But, while this will keep him off the streets, too many others just like him are still wandering around, looking for their next victim.^[4]

6 Jerobejin van Wyk

On February 2, 2022, 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk and a couple of his friends allegedly decided to steal mangoes from 54-year-old Daniel Smit’s garden in Klawer in the Western Cape. These young boys could never have imagined what would transpire after their typical teenage mischief (if that is indeed what they were up to). The South African Human Rights Commissioner’s visit to Smit’s property two weeks later revealed that there was no mango tree in the garden or yard.

While it is still unclear what exactly transpired that day, Smit told police that he caught the boys on his property. He then decided to chase after them in his bakkie (small truck) when they ran away. Smit said he accidentally hit Jerobejin and then took him back to his house to give him bread and a cold drink. Smit also said that he went back inside his house while Jerobejin ate, and the boy was gone when he came back outside.

However, according to one of Jerobejin’s friends, Smit drove over Jerobejin before putting him in his truck and speeding away. Jerobejin never made it home. His mother reported him missing that same day, and several residents went looking for Jerobejin the following day. What they found were some of the boy’s remains in a drain on Smit’s property. The remains included intestines, an ear, and a kidney.

Smit was arrested, but what followed was more than two years of waiting for him to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital to assess whether he was fit to stand trial. Court documents state that prosecutors believe Smit premeditated the murder of Jerobejin because he assaulted and stabbed him after running him over with his vehicle. He then dismembered and burned the boy’s body, finally disposing of it to try and hide his crime.

Daniel Smith will now go on trial for Jerobejin’s murder between October 14 and November 7, 2024.^[5]

5 Nadine Terblanche and Ruandre Vorster

On November 27, 2023, Freddie Stapelberg returned home from work and walked into a nightmare, or so he initially claimed. His partner, Nadine Terblanche, and her nine-year-old son, Ruandre Vorster, had been murdered in cold blood in their Alberton home, allegedly by the family’s gardener, Pardon Danhire.

Nadine and Ruan were in their rooms, with bruises and injuries that seemed consistent with someone strangling them. Later, it was revealed that mother and son were getting ready to attend a school prize-giving event when they were attacked. Stapelberg told police that when he got home, Danhire attacked him with an ax. He then activated his panic button, summoning a security company that swiftly apprehended Danhire.

Stapelberg did not know, however, that a security officer overheard him tell Danhire he would “draw the money.” Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for Stapelberg to be arrested on charges of premeditated murder. According to Danhire, Stapelberg promised him a sum of money if he would kill both Nadine and her son.

Since his arrest, Stapelberg has consistently been denied bail. The case also keeps getting postponed for further investigation. What is known at this point is that Stapelberg has an estranged wife and three children, whom he is using to get himself out of jail.

His latest bail attempt has seen him claim that he must take care of his family. He is also complaining about not receiving his prescription medication while in prison. He was denied bail yet again on August 29, 2024.^[6]

4 Joslin Smith

On February 19, 2024, six-year-old Joslin Smith went missing from the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay. At first, police were under the impression that Joslin’s mother, Kelly, dropped her off at her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, before leaving for work. She allegedly did this because Joslin was not feeling well that day.

Kelly later said she had returned home from work only to find that her child was missing. She also said Appollis told her Joslin had gone to play outside with friends and did not return. The couple searched the area for an hour and then reported Joslin missing. Friends, neighbors, and community members came out in their numbers to help the police search for Joslin. The search continued for several days and included search dogs, drones, and the marine unit.

On March 2, clothing items were found in an open field. The clothes were stained with blood. Shortly after, another heap of clothing was discovered in a drain behind a local high school. The discovery included a baby blanket, a blue fleece top, and a small backpack. All the items were DNA tested, but the results showed they did not belong to Joslin.

The search for Joslin attracted volunteers from all over the Western Cape province. There was talk of Joslin being kidnapped and taken aboard a Panamanian ship that left the Saldanha Bay harbor just days after the little girl went missing. Nothing came of this.

In the meantime, Kelly and Appollis both cried on TV while being interviewed, and apparently, both passed a lie detector test. Then, at the beginning of March, Kelly, Appollis, and two others were arrested for Joslin’s disappearance. One of the four accused confessed that they had sold Joslin to a sangoma for R20,000 ($1100). The sangoma wanted Joslin for muti (ritual sacrifice).

Since then, the four accused have appeared in court several times, only for the case to be postponed each time. There is still no further information about where Joslin is or whether she may still be alive. Kelly is also pregnant again, with her fourth child. Child protective services have taken away her other two children, and they are in a place of safety. The case is still postponed and is expected to resume on September 16, 2024.^[7]

3 Marolien Schmidt

Forty-year-old Marolien Schmidt, affectionately known as the Pink Physio, was attacked in the early hours of Women’s Day (August 9), 2023, in her Richmond Hill home in Gqeberha. Neighbors heard glass breaking and Marolien screaming. They reacted fast and rushed her to hospital, but it was still too late. It took less than 24 hours for the police to apprehend Marolien’s murderer.

Thjirty-one-year-old Simxolele Zitshu, who had previous convictions for murder and robbery, was again charged with housebreaking and murder. He had stabbed Marolien in the back and upper body, stealing only her cell phone, which he sold for R600 ($33).

Zitshu described how he was looking for a house to break into before deciding on Marolien’s home. He claimed he was in the process of stealing her TV when he saw a light switch on and Marolien approaching him. Zitshu claimed that Marolien attacked him and that she was very strong. He then stabbed her to escape. Zitshu was handed a life sentence for the murder. At the time of Marolien’s murder, Zitshu was out on parole after serving some time for his previous convictions.

Before her death, Marolien lived in her home for 13 years and was very happy there, never feeling unsafe. She was an Ironman runner and beloved by her family, friends, and community.^[8]

2 Ditebogo Junior Phalane

On May 10, 2024, five-year-old Ditebogo Junior Phalane ran outside to greet his father, who had just returned to their Soshanguve family home. What Ditebogo couldn’t possibly have known is that his father was being hijacked in their driveway by a group of heavily armed men. When the little boy ran up to his father, one of the men turned and shot him.

Ditebogo’s father rushed his son to the hospital, but the boy died on the way there. His mother had given birth just five days before the incident, and she held her newborn baby in disbelief as she received the news that her oldest child was dead.

The man who shot Ditebogo and three accomplices to the hijacking was arrested shortly afterward. The boy’s killer was out on bail at the time of the shooting after being charged with other violent crimes. The case has been postponed for further investigation.

Ditebogo was laid to rest a week after he was murdered. The funeral service was a highly charged and devastating event as yet another closely-knit family had to say goodbye to their child. Ditebogo dreamed of becoming a lawyer one day and had a smile that lit up any room he walked into. Because of another senseless act of violence, this little boy will never get to realize his dreams, just like so many other victims.^[9]

1 Deveney Nel

In 2020, an unnamed teenage boy from the Overberg in the Western Cape lured an 11-year-old girl away while on a camping trip with their respective families. He told the girl they should go to a nearby hill to draw pictures of the surrounding area. The boy returned to the campsite around 8 p.m., but the girl did not. The girl’s mother immediately set out looking for her child.

Unfortunately, she found her bloodied and unconscious among the reeds in a river. There was a piece of barbed wire around her neck and face, which prevented her from drowning. When the girl came to, she told her mother the boy orally raped her. When the girl’s mother confronted the boy’s mother, the boy’s mother admitted that her son was a “problem child.”

The boy, thirteen at the time, was brought before the court, but the case was withdrawn after he underwent a psychiatric assessment. The National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa declined to comment on the case cause the offender and the victim were both minors. However, the state prosecutor requested that the boy be placed in an intervention program for sexual offenders. This never happened. A psychiatrist and clinical psychologist warned that the boy would re-offend again and use physical violence. Yet the case was dismissed, and the boy suffered no consequences for his actions.

On August 6, 2024, 16-year-old Deveney Nel’s mother reported her daughter missing when she did not return home from school after a sports day. Deveney’s body was found the next day in a storeroom of the high school she attended. She had been stabbed several times with a sharp object. The police also suspect that Deveney was raped, but there is no confirmation of this yet.

On August 16, the same boy who raped the 11-year-old girl in 2020 was arrested. The arrest came hours after he attended a memorial service for Deveney. It was also reported that he assisted in the search for Deveney while she was still missing. He is now 17 and remains unnamed because he is still a minor. He appeared in court on camera on August 19, and the case has been postponed to September 18.

Had action been taken after the boy’s first offense, Deveney might still be alive today. But, as with so many other cases, the system failed her.^[10]