Arguments about whether or not a teenager, convicted in August on a litany of charges, including the brutal rape and murder of a 95-year-old Uitenhage woman, should be sentenced under the Child Justice Act were heard in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday.
The legal counsel for Phumzile Mabope, 19, advocate Jodine Coertzen, asked judge Dayalin Chetty to consider the fact that her client was only 16 when his crime spree began.
This, she said, was a mitigating circumstance for Mabope to receive a lesser sentence.
Chetty is expected to hand down sentencing on Thursday.
“The pre-sentence report shows a very sad story,” Coertzen said.
“[Mabope] is one of the statistics that fell through the cracks.
“It is abundantly clear that [Mabope] started his crimes out of necessity to survive.
“If he had better guidance from his parents then maybe we would not be here today.”
Coertzen told the court that Mabope had been a case study for the department of social development for some time.
She asked Chetty to consider the fact that Mabope committed his first crimes at 16 and that when he raped and murdered Maria Vermaak, 95, in her Luyt Street, Uitenhage, home in February 2017 he was only 17.
“We find ourselves in a situation where we need to consider the appropriate [Child Justice Act] for sentencing purposes,” Coertzen said.
The Child Justice Act provides for a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Coertzen said the only appropriate sentence would be direct imprisonment, but asked Chetty to sentence Mabope to less than 25 years.
State prosecutor Megan September, however, submitted a victim impact report which detailed the extent of trauma experienced by all of Mabope’s victims, including the Uitenhage community.
“These are all serious crimes which created severe trauma.
“[Mabope] showed a total disregard of the rights of the complainants.
“He chose his victims well, mainly elderly, defenceless and frail women.
“Socioeconomic circumstances cannot determine your actions,” September said.
She said the rape and murder of Vermaak caused panic and paranoia.
Mabope was convicted on seven counts of house robbery with intent to steal, as well as robbery, rape and murder, among others.
He was also convicted on four other charges of housebreaking.
In his plea, Mabope claimed he had gone to Vermaak’s Luyt Street, Uitenhage, home on February 23 2017 with the intention of stealing avocados from a tree on the property.
He decided to enter the house after noticing the back door was open.
Mabope claimed he went to Vermaak’s bedroom to look for something to steal but, on finding nothing worth stealing, went to the kitchen to steal food.
While in the kitchen, he had heard Vermaak enter the house through the front door, he said.
He then hid under a bed.
Later, he grabbed her around the neck and throttled her, and she fell to the ground.
He then strangled her with a telephone cord.
He left the property to rob a nearby house, but returned later to collect the items.
Mabope claimed he had intended to defile Vermaak’s body after her death and not rape her, which Chetty dismissed.