Songezo Mpulampula, 22, sat down to a meal with a 4-year-old girl and a neighbour, moments before he brutally raped and killed the girl.
When the neighbour went to the bathroom, Mpulampula lured the little girl to an abandoned toilet where he raped and strangled her to death.
On November 27, the Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced Mpulampula to two terms of life imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to the September 2023 rape and murder of the girl in the Harding area.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said in his plea, Mpulampula mentioned that he and the child lived in the same area.
She added that on the day of the incident, he was returning home from drinking at a tavern when he stopped at one of the houses in the area to get something to eat.
“There, he found the child eating a meal with the neighbour and he joined them. When the neighbour left them alone and went to the bathroom, Mpulampula lured the girl outside to an abandoned toilet. There he raped her and strangled her. Thereafter he took a plastic bag that was on the floor and lit it with matches, allowing the drops of burning plastic to fall onto her body, causing her to sustain burn injuries. He fled the scene and was arrested a few days later in the uMzimkhulu area,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
In court, Senior State Advocate Pretty-Girl Ngcobo, handed in a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the child’s mother and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer, Beaufort Shinga. In her statement, the woman said that her child was bubbly and full of life and did not deserve to die in such a horrible manner, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
“The mother said that Mpulampula had taken away her child’s right to life and right to a future. She said she was not coping with the death and is experiencing flashbacks from the day of the incident. She added that she is very depressed and has had to relocate to another province. The sentences of life imprisonment will run concurrently with each other, thus resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment. The court further deemed Mpulampula unfit to possess a firearm,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
Ms Ramkisson-Kara said as the country observes the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign, there is hope that sentences of this nature demonstrate the NPA’s efforts to fight for justice on behalf of the victims of crime.
She commended the work done by the prosecution and SAPS that led to swift justice for the girl’s family.
