Pretoria - The ministry responsible for women has welcomed the ruling of the Durban High Court, which found Thozamile Taki guilty of killing 13 women.
Taki was convicted on Thursday of 13 counts of murder and 13 of robbery with aggravating circumstances. The women's bodies were dumped in sugarcane plantations at Umzinto in KwaZulu-Natal and tea plantations in the Eastern Cape.
Taki posed as an employment agent and lured women with the promise of high-paying jobs. The victims' personal belongings, including clothing, cell phones and cash, were stolen before being killed.
Director-General for the Ministry for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, attended court sessions over the past two days to convey messages of support to the families of the victims.
She urged the court to hand down the heaviest sentence possible on this matter in order to send a strong message to all abusers of women that they should expect to face the full might of the law.
"Police, prosecutors and courts are empowered by various pieces of legislation to act swiftly on cases of violence against women and children. We urge all law enforcement agencies to act firmly against perpetrators of women and child abuse," said Mkhize.
The ministry also urged the general public not to ignore, but to report all cases of abuse of women and children to police, social workers and other relevant authorities.
The case was adjourned to next week for mitigation of sentence by the defence
