Pretoria serial killer handed six life terms, 192 years in prison

A convicted serial killer has been handed six life terms and 192 years behind bars by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for a string of crimes.

Wellington Kachidza, a 28-year-old Zimbabwean national, pleaded guilty to 34 counts – six counts of murder, three counts of rape, eight counts of kidnapping, eight counts of extortion, eight counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and being in the country illegally.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Kachidza’s crime spree took place in Pretoria, between January 2018 and December 2019.

Kachidza’s murder victims were men whom he’d lure under the guise of seeking assistance with driving before kidnapping them and demanding ransom money from their families. He would then kill the men after the monies were paid. The reported cause of death based on post-mortem for the victims was head injury or trauma to the head.

“With the three female victims, he pretended to be offering employment opportunities, he would lure them to a close-by bush or veld, rape them and rob them of their belongings and walk away. Kachidza was arrested on the 15 of January 2020, based on an intelligence-driven operation and was later linked by DNA evidence to the rape counts. He has been in custody since his arrest,” said NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.

ALSO READ: Parolee Petoors sentenced to double life for rape and murder of boy, 8

PRETORIA SERIAL KILLER’S MOTIVE WAS GREED – NPA

The lead prosecutor in Wellington Kachidza’s case, Prosecutor Adv. Pieter Coetzer argued in court, that the motive behind his crimes was pure greed – and that his evil deeds have had a severe impact, particularly on his rape victims and the families of the men he murdered.

“The Director of Public Prosecutions, Adv. Sibongile Mzinyathi is confident that through this sentence, the community can be reminded that the NPA is committed to ensuring that people who commit such gruesome crimes are prosecuted.  Mzinyathi is also thankful to the investigating team of the South African Police Service (SAPS) that investigated this matter.”

NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana

ALSO READ: Two men sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of 31-year-old woman