JOHANNESBURG - Twenty-five-year-old rapist and murderer Phethe Simiao has been sentenced to two life terms.
Simiao was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering six-year-old Amantle Samane from Soweto in 2024.
A judge in the High Court in Johannesburg sentenced him on Monday to two years in prison for kidnapping, one life term for murder, one life term for rape, and two years for contravention of the Immigration Act. All these sentences are to run concurrently.
READ | Man pleads guilty for murder, rape of 6-year-old Amantle Samane
Handing down the sentences, Judge William Karam said there were aggravating factors, among them being that Amantle was a defenseless child playing in the street when Simiao pulled her into his shack and sexually assaulted her.
“The accused satisfied his perverted lust on a child, the most innocent and vulnerable member of society. And finally, her terror at having the accused place his hands around her neck and choke the very breath of life out of her,” the judge said.
Karam went further.
“Society is sick and tired of this epidemic of violence against women and children that has engulfed the country,“ the judge said.
Ntombizodwa Samane, the emotional mother of the slain six-year-old, says she finds relief in the sentences imposed.
But even so, she is left with questions.
“I wanted to know why he did what he did and what pushed him to that point, because nobody wakes up out of nowhere and ends up committing such a crime. He has left a lot of questions. And I still do not have closure, even though he was given two life sentences,” she says.
Speaking in court after the sentencing, Samane agrees with the judge that Simiao is a ruthless man who does not belong in society.
The National Prosecuting Authority's Gauteng spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane lauded the judgment, saying it is fitting for the seriousness of the crimes Simiao committed.
Mjonodwane said the court took into account that Simiao did not plead guilty voluntarily, which is a difference between remorse and regret; instead, he was feeling sorry for himself.