Detective continues GBV fight

Detective Sergeant Edward Mndeni Mzila, who is based at the Serial and Electronic Crimes Investigations (SECI) Unit in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), is among the officers of South African Police Service (SAPS) making a difference in their communities. While the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign ended yesterday (December 10), Detective Mzila continues to fight gender based violence.

SECI is a specialised investigation unit that deals with the investigation of serial rape cases and sexual crimes committed through electronic mediums such as child pornography. As an investigator, Detective Mzila has dedicated the past decade to investigating serial rapists as well as ensuring that they serve and lengthy sentences in prison.

He ensures that sex predators no longer pose a threat to the community, moreover, especially to vulnerable groups such as women, children, and people living with disabilities. To date, Detective Mzila has secured 79 life term sentences and an additional 1 336 years’ imprisonment for 50 sexual predators. His outstanding detective work saw him arresting and securing harsher sentences for several serial rapists and sexual predators in KZN.

“Of the many cases I have worked on, there is one that stands out. This was the arrest and sentencing of a 30-year-old, Moses Mavila. He was dubbed the ‘Durban Highway Rapist’ for the manner in which he attacked his victims along the busy M19 freeway in Durban. Over a period of seven years, Mavila preyed on unemployed women, aged between 20 and 58 years. He would lure his unsuspecting victims to the Westville and New Germany areas under the premise of employment opportunities. He would then rape them and rob them of their belongings. His case landed on my desk for further investigation. The suspect was not known for a period of seven years, but with determination, dedication and stellar investigative skills we brought Mavila to book,” said Detective Mzila.

Detective Mzila meticulously pieced all the evidence together and linked the suspect with DNA to 32 cases of rape, as well as two cases of attempted rape and robbery. With overwhelming evidence which he brought before the court of law, Mr Mavila decided to plead guilty to all charges. On August 31, 2019, the Pinetown Magistrates’ Court sentenced him to 32 life terms and 384 years imprisonment on 32 counts of rape, attempted rape and robbery.

“In a separate case involving a Facebook serial rapist, Detective Mzila’s investigative skills and hard work put another sex predator behind bars when he secured lengthy sentences for 31-year-old Siyabonga Ndwandewe,” the SAPS said in a statement. “Ndwandwe used Facebook to lure his victims to Durban, offering them prospective employment as child-minders and tuck-shop assistants. Once they arrived in Inanda, he would take them to a secluded area and rob and rape them at knifepoint. Detective Mzila thwarted his reign of terror, which lasted for two years, when he traced and arrested Ndwandwe in 2020.”

With a water-tight case brought against him by Detective Mzila, Mr Ndwandwe was left with no option but to plead guilty on all seven charges of rape. He was sentenced to 175 years’ imprisonment in the Ntuzuma Magistrates’ Court.

Currently, Detective Mzila is investigating a case of the murder and rape of a 17-year-old girl, where he managed to trace and arrest three suspects within a short period of time. He has vowed to fight for justice for vulnerable groups in society and has pleaded with the victims of gender-based violence to speak up and report perpetrators to the police.

“Working on these cases has given me the drive and passion to fight the scourge of gender-based violence not only within ‘16 Days of Activism’ but as an ongoing thing,” said Detective Mzila, “Looking at the degree of violence perpetuated against women and children, including people living with disabilities who can’t fight for themselves, I took it upon myself to use my skills to fight for them and put perpetrators behind bars for the rest of their lives.”

The 16 Days is held from November 25 to December 10 every year.