There was nobody in the usually full court gallery as the convicted rapist and murderer Mvuzo Matebese, 18, appeared for his sentence in the Grahamstown High Court yesterday.
There was nobody in the usually full court gallery as the convicted rapist and murderer Mvuzo Matebese, 18, appeared for his sentence in the Grahamstown High Court yesterday.
Not because people had lost interest in the case, but because the matter had been rescheduled at the 11th hour, for which Judge Nomathamsanqa Beshe apologised.
On Wednesday, members of the community had packed the court gallery to listen to what was going to happen to Matebese, but left disappointed as the Judge postponed the matter to yesterday afternoon, to give her time to look at the report compiled by the probation officer and to look at the arguments presented by state prosecutor Buks Coetzee, and defence counsel, Deon Geldenhuys.
Beshe sentenced Matebese, to 19 years imprisonment for rape, and 22 years for murder. Half of the murder sentence will run concurrently with the rape sentence, meaning he will effectively serve 30 years behind bars.
Last month, Beshe found Matebese guilty of the rape and murder of Zingisa Centwa, 18, at his home in Tantyi Location in December last year, after he pleaded guilty to all charges. Centwa's body was found in Lukwe Street, Tantyi Location, two days after she disappeared from her home on 21 December.
While delivering her sentence, Beshe said the fact that Matebese was 18, a first-time offender and had pleaded guilty to the charges indicated there was a possibility he could be rehabilitated. Beshe said Centwa had been awaiting her matric results at the time of her death. “She had secured a job at Rat and Parrot Pub, and was going to get her salary on that day,” she said.
Beshe said the sentence would serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders and as a punishment to the accused. She said the right to life was one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution. “Through his actions, the accused has deprived her of this right. I have no doubt that the deceased had hopes, and was looking forward to life. All those hopes were ended by the accused.”
“I have no doubt that the family and the community are keen to know if the courts will protect their rights, or be protected against the accused. This is show by the number of people who came during court proceedings,” she said.
Beshe said Matebese had not explained what caused him to commit the crime, except to plead guilty. “The accused gave very scanty details of what really happened on the day,” she said.
