The harsh punishment draws attention to itself. Mjadu was sentenced to 292 years in prison. It is one of the longest sentences ever imposed by a South African judge, outlasting the sentences imposed on some of the country’s most known serial killers.
DURBAN’S MHLONIPHENI MJADU CHARGE SHEET – WHY HAS HE BEEN IN PRISON FOR SO LONG:
How did this guy amass such a large charge sheet? Here’s what he’s been found guilty of:
Seven crimes of rape result in seven life sentences in prison (25 years each, 175 years in total)
75 years in prison for five crimes of robbery
Six offenses of housebreaking result in 30 years in prison.
12 years in prison for one conviction of attempted rape
Total: 19 counts, 292 years in prison
Mhlonipheni Mjadu’s reign of terror over the Esikhaleni village was discovered by SAPS. They also revealed the moment the 25-year-old attempted one too daring offense, which resulted in him being beaten up till 2311.
SOUTH AFRICA’S LONGEST JAIL SENTENCES
But how does Mjadu’s sentence compare to the truly heinous villains of South African history? He’s up there, but he hasn’t exactly broken any records. Moses Sithole, South Africa’s most prolific serial killer, has that distinction: He murdered 38 people and raped 40 more, earning him 2 410 years in prison – ten times Mjadu’s sentence.
Cedric Maake is now serving a life sentence in jail for 27 murders committed in Gauteng between 1996 and 1997.
Sipho Thwala is serving 504 years in prison for 19 murders committed in Phoenix, KZN.
Mhlonipheni Mjadu, on the other hand, earned a harsher sentence than apartheid gunman Eugene de Cock, who was sentenced to 212 years in prison on 89 offences, including six killings, while serving the despicable system. In other news, Cape Town’s “Station Strangler” Norman Simons received only 35 years in prison for 25 murders. Yes, that specific decision caused a commotion.