Mitspa Onyoka John Curran

Mitspa Onyoka, as captured on CCTV cameras (SAPS)

John Curran’s killer, Mitspa Onyoka, sentenced to 18 years; blames witchcraft

Mitspa Onyoka was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for the murder of John Curran after pleading guilty to all the charges he faced in the Cape Town High Court on Tuesday.

Mitspa Onyoka John Curran

Mitspa Onyoka, as captured on CCTV cameras (SAPS)

Mitspa Onyoka , the man who stabbed Irishman John Curran 26 times and beat him with a frying pan, was sentenced to an effective 18 years imprisonment, for the 2018 murder, on Tuesday, 1 June.

The 27-year-old Congolese man entered a plea bargain with the state and admitted his guilt to murder, theft and fraud.

JOHN CURRAN, KILLED IN HIS CAPE TOWN FLAT IN 2018

The Western Cape High Court heard that Onyoka and Curran became acquainted a few weeks before the murder, which took place on 6 November 2018, according to an affidavit.

Onyoka claims that the deceased invited him to his flat in Buitengracht Street, in the Cape Town CBD, on the fateful day. He said they had a drink and then the 63-year-old Curran made sexual advances towards him.

Onyoka said he rebuffed the advances and went to the bathroom to get away from Curran but he said the Irishman followed him, which was seemingly the provocation for the attack that followed.

Onyoka said he pushed Curran away before grabbing a knife from the kitchen and stabbing the deceased multiple times. An autopsy revealed that Curran was stabbed 26 times – with wounds to the chest, neck and head – and suffered blunt force trauma to the right of his skull, according to The Irish Times.

As he was leaving the scene of the crime, Onyoka saw the deceased’s new cellphone on the table and decided to take it. He later claimed it was his when he pawned it at a second hand shop two days later.

A domestic worker found Curran’s body on 7 November 2018 and Onyoka was arrested within three weeks of the killing and it was discovered that he had been living in South Africa illegally since 2017.

APOLOGETIC ONYOKA BLAMES WITCHCRAFT

Onyoka worked as a cleaner at the nightclub where he and Curran reportedly met. Prior to the murder Oyoka had no convictions – the state considered this and agreed that he showed remorse when he accepted the charges. He also asked the court for an opportunity to apologise to representative of the Curran family.

Onyoka apologised to the family and said that while he knows that saying sorry will not fix things, he hopes that asking the family for forgiveness will alleviate some of the pain they are feeling.

“I know white people don’t believe in witchcraft,” said Onyoka, adding that nothing he did on the fateful day was he. “Sincerely, I ask you to forgive me.”

John Selwyn Hockey sentenced Onyoka to 18 years imprisonment for the murder, three years each for theft and fraud and one year for contravening the country’s immigration laws. The sentences will run concurrently.