The man convicted of raping and murdering the University of Cape Town (UCT) student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, will be back in court today in another case.
Luyanda Botha will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court after being charged with the attempted rape of a 21-year-old woman at a nursing college in Athlone in June 2014.
The state alleges that Botha visited the woman at the institution and attempted to rape her, but she fought him off.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila says, “He appeared in court on the 10th of May 2024 and his case has been postponed until the 7th of June 2024 where the state will continue with the testimony of one of its witnesses.”
Mrwetyana’s murder
The High Court in Cape Town had sentenced Botha to three life terms for the murder of 19-year-old Mrwetyana.
She was killed when she went to collect mail at the Clareinch Post Office in Claremont in 2019.
Her murder sparked public outrage.
Speaking at the annual Uyinene Mrwetyana Lecture at Makhanda in the Eastern Cape in March this year, Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka said one of the ways to fight gender-based violence is to allow the boy child to embrace their femininity and do away with social norms that make men feel that doing such is a sign of weakness.
The commemorative lecture was established in 2019 to celebrate Uyinene, with the aim of empowering young people to stand against gender-based violence.
Gcaleka made a call to parents to be intentional about removing the gender tags even at home and to allow their children to be ethical human beings before anything else.
VIDEO | Uyinene Mrwetyana’s murderer and rapist sentenced to three life terms:
