The man accused of brutally killing Siphokazi Booi, Sithobele ‘Rasta’ Qeba, showed no remorse at the Paarl Regional court today where the prosecutor read the charges that he is facing. It has been more than 1000 days since she was killed and we are reaching the final stages of this awful case at last. The day of reckoning, however, looms for this heartless killer as her case moves to judgement on 22 July.
Qeba faces multiple charges including murder, defeating the administration of justice and the desecration of a corpse.
Qeba and his defence team delayed Siphokazi’s case by getting postponement after postponement, only to enter a guilty plea in December last year as a last ditch effort to get a reduced sentence of 15 years. The prosecution refused to settle for a plea, opting to pursue a trial to put him behind bars for life. Action Society welcomed the prosecution’s unwillingness to settle for a lesser sentence.
This week, the court heard the harrowing details of Siphokazi’s abuse leading up to her murder, the shocking injuries she suffered the night of her death and how her body was desecrated.
On Monday the investigating officer detailed the gruesome nature of Siphokazi’s death; she was severely beaten, dismembered and tossed in a wheelie bin before it was set on fire. She added that her face was not recognisable and her identity had to be confirmed through DNA testing. She also pointed out the fact that Qeba was out on bail at the time of her murder for assault GBH (also against Siphokazi), and one of the conditions was that he was not allowed to go near her. She showed before and after photos of Siphokazi wherein she is completely unrecognisable. She finally explained how community members helped chase down and arrest Qeba after they found out about the murder.
On Tuesday a medical specialist took the stand and the court learned more details of the serious injuries Siphokazi suffered at the hands of Qeba during the previous assault, before the murder, necessitating a CT-scan and follow up appointments. The medical doctor and forensic specialist who performed Siphokazi’s postmortem testified that Siphokazi suffered blunt force trauma to the head that caused a fatal brain bleed and that her body had been burnt so badly that there were no limbs besides part of her upper arms left. In fact the bin she was dumped in, was completely melted.
In his defence, Qeba’s attorney claimed that Siphokazi was drunk on the night of her death, came to Qeba willingly and that they both hit each other before Qeba kicked Siphokazi in the stomach, causing her to fall against the fridge, hitting her head. Qeba claims he later realised that Siphokazi had died and dumped her body in a Wheelie bin.
During closing arguments today the prosecution concluded that Qeba murdered Siphokazi in cold blood beyond a reasonable doubt and should receive a minimum of a life sentence. On defeating the ends of justice, the prosecutor said that Qeba loaded her into a wheelie bin and transported Siphokazi’s body away from the scene of the crime. Whether he lit the wheelie bin on fire or left it in an already burning area is immaterial, the accused meant to frustrate the administration of justice by hiding the body. On placing the bin close to a spot already ablaze, or letting it on fire, the prosecutor said it showed that Qeba meant to hide Siphokazi’s cause of death – and he almost succeeded, considering the state of Siphokazi’s body. It is unclear if, besides burning her body, he also dismembered her limbs, the medical specialists couldn’t determine whether the fire burnt the limbs to nothing or if the limbs were dismembered.
“This is the work of a sadistic monster. Action Society demands that he is put behind bars for life. It has been an uphill battle to get to this point in her case which has caused her family, friends and community a tremendous amount of pain and we refuse to disappoint them,” said Action Society’s Kaylynn Palm.
