It was a double tragedy for the family of one of the six sex workers killed by Sifiso Mkhwanazi, as they lost not only her but also her son, who took his own life after her murder.
Mkhwanazi lured six sex workers to his father's panelbeating workshop in central Johannesburg between April and October He tied them up and then raped and strangled them. The crimes were uncovered when a bad odour led to the discovery of the bodies in various stages of decomposition.
The year-old son of one of the sex workers, Chihota Nyarai, died by suicide last year in December as he couldn't cope with the death of his mother. Nyarai's firstborn daughter, Pauline Chihota, shared the sad news with TimesLIVE shortly after the Johannesburg high court sitting in Palm Ridge sentenced Mkhwanazi to life imprisonment and declared him a dangerous criminal.
An emotional Pauline, 30, couldn't hold back her tears as she described the role her mother played raising them as a single parent. She said her life and that of her siblings was turned upside down when she found out that her mother was one of the sex workers who had been killed. Unfortunately, my brother, the third born, drank poison. We lost him in December because of that situation. I couldn't give him what my mom was giving him.
Pauline commended the court for the harsh sentence imposed on Mkhwanazi. She said she and her three surviving siblings had prayed for almost three years that he be sent to prison forever. I am very skinny, things are not well. I am raising my siblings. Like I said before, I am the first child and cannot even care for the younger ones. My younger sister is not going to school. I cannot feed them, I stay in one room and things are not easy because my mom was everything to us.
