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Freddy Tshikhudo (left) with his attorney, Mr Desmond Monyane, shortly after he was found guilty of the murder of Manyere and the rape of two other victims.

Hand case: Three life sentences for Freddy Tshikhudo

Date: 13 July 2015 By: Isabel Venter

Freddy Azwitamisi Tshikhudo (40) was in no apparent shock after it became clear that he would spend the remainder of his life behind bars.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Louis Trichardt Circuit High Court last Thursday (2nd), after being found guilty of murdering Rumbidzai Manyere (36). Tshikhudo was also found guilty of raping two other victims (prior to killing Manyere), two counts of kidnapping, two counts of robbery, two counts of housebreaking and one of attempting to sell human remains.

His case became know as the “Hand Case” after Tshikhudo tried to sell Manyere’s severed arm. Instead, this led to his arrest.

“I feel that there is nothing that I can say,” remarked Tshikhudo when asked by his attorney, Mr Desmond Monyane, whether there were any mitigating factors he would like to impart to the court. “… whatever the court wants to do is fine with me … how can I be sorry for something that I never committed? According to me, I never committed anything. The court is saying they are finding me guilty… how am I supposed to be sorry about that?” said Tshikhudo.

Afterwards, during a brief intermission of the court, Tshikuhdo made smalltalk with his attorney and the policemen in court. He also asked for some cigarettes and money, and threatened to sue the newspaper for taking photographs of him during his trial.

During Tshikhudo’s trial, a horrific picture was painted in his own words about Manyere’s last days.

Tshikhudo submitted a confession to the Makhado police shortly after he was arrested on 5 April 2013 at Elti Café, trying to sell her severed arm to the owners.

During the course of his year-long trial, however, Tshikhudo changed his account of events three times. Last week he claimed that he had been coerced into the confession, which was the State’s key piece of evidence, by six policemen who beat him.

At the time of his arrest, Tshikhudo claimed that the café owners, Mr Musha Isap Ali Patel (64) and his wife Ms Hasina Muska Patel (62), were part of the plot and owed him money for killing Manyere. The charges against the Patels were withdrawn when Tshikhudo submitted his confession.

In his confession, Tshikhudo admitted to having a sexual affair with Manyere. On 18 March 2013, he lured her into the bushes at the northern part of Celliers Street. She was about to terminate their relationship, but he still needed money from her.

Once in the bushes, he confessed to binding her hands and feet with her own clothing before robbing her. He stole some cash, a cell phone and a pair of takkies that he had bought for Manyere during a previous rendezvous. Because Manyere was screaming, Tshikhudo also put balled-up clothing into her mouth to silence her.

“I then left her like that,” Tshikhudo said.

Nine days later, Tshikhudo returned and discovered that Manyere was dead. “I then decided to untie her … and left her body there.”

Another four days passed, during which time his financial responsibilities started catching up with Tshikhudo. This drove him to cutting off Manyere’s hand to try and see if the Patels would buy the hand. Shortly before attempting this, he changed his mind and “decided to go to the old man’s shop to take the money.”

“I entered the shop … I then took out the deceased’s hand from the plastic bag and waved it around. The old lady started screaming. I told her not to scream as I would not harm her, but what I wanted was money.”

Tshikhudo admitted that it was due to his financial dilemma that he had lied to the police and told them that he and the Patels were in it together to gain profits from Manyere’s death. “I told them [police] that the Indians were not involved, but I did this because I had no money, that is why I decided to implicate the Indians with the hand. That is why I decided to make this statement [confession].”

Judge Voster said in his verdict that no mitigating factors could be considered in sentencing Tshikhudo. He also added that Tshikhudo’s evidence was full of serious contradictions, and agreed with the State that Tshikhudo could not be trusted to tell the truth.

Voster sentenced Tshikhudo to three life sentences for the murder and two rapes. He also sentenced him to a further 15 years on each count of robbery, 10 years on the housebreaking charge, five years on each count of kidnapping,  and three years on the count of the attempted trade in human flesh. All the sentences were ordered to run concurrently, which means Tshikhudo will have to serve 25 years of his sentence before he can be considerede for parole.

 
 
 

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

 
 

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