Action Society welcomed the prosecution’s decision to go to trial in Siphokazi Booi murder case early next year. Sithobele Qebe pleaded guilty to murder, defeating the ends of justice, assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, the desecration of a corpse and failure to comply with bail conditions in the Paarl Regional court today. The prosecution did not accept Qebe’s plea on the murder charge, and will pursue a life sentence during the trial which was set for 13, 14 and 17 May 2024.
“Nothing will bring Siphokazi Booi back to her family and nothing will ever numb the pain of knowing how brutally she was taken from this world. The only solace we can offer is to do everything we possibly can to ensure that Qebe never, ever gets the chance to hurt another woman in his life. Qebe and his defence team has delayed this case by getting postponement after postponement, only to enter a guilty plea today in a last ditch effort to get a reduced sentence of 15 years. He should get nothing less than a life sentence and that is why this postponement is one we welcome. We believe his plea is his version of what happened. The true story of his violent acts will be revealed when the witnesses take the stand during trial in May,” said Action Society’s Kaylynn Palm.
Qebe was out on bail at the time of the murder after being charged with assault for beating Siphokazi to the point that she had to be admitted to hospital in August 2021. Despite bail conditions forbidding Qebe to contact Booi, according to his own admission, he mercilessly assaulted Siphokazi again in the early hours of 5 September 2021. He admitted to kicking her multiple times. She vomited and according to Qebe he left her outside, where he found her unresponsive hours later.
“He has a clear history of violence. He ignored a protection order, his violence escalated to murder and then even further when he desecrated and disposed of her body. He treated her in death like he treated her in life – as rubbish. It is time to expose him for the monster he is. Justice will not be served until somebody throws away the key after his sentence.”
For Siphokazi’s family, it was very understandably a very emotional day. They have been waiting for more than two years for Siphokazi’s case to be heard. Listening to the detailed description of his version of the events, was sickening. “It is going to get even worse before justice will be served. We will continue to support them.”
