18 years for RU torture, murder
ONE of five men accused of torturing and murdering a Grahamstown man they believed had stolen the laptop of a former Rhodes student, writer and activist was yesterday sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment.
Siviwe Gqotholo, 30, bowed his head as Grahamstown High Court Judge John Smith described the torture and murder of Thembelani Qwankanisa, 29, as a brutal and callous act.
In his plea statement last month Gqotholo gave a graphic account of how he and four other men had tortured Qwankanisa last year over a prolonged period, repeatedly beating, burning and stabbing him to get him to confess to stealing the laptop of then third-year Rhodes student, poet and citizen journalist Thembani Onceya.
Onceya, his two brothers Akhona and Simamkele, and another friend, Mzwanele Maki, have pleaded not guilty to murdering Qwankanisa.
They remain in jail pending their trial in early December.
Their trial was separated from that of Gqotholo as he opted to plead guilty to his role in the brutal murder.
Smith yesterday said Qwankanisa had been tortured in the most inhumane way possible.
“One cannot help but be horrified by the unimaginable suffering [he] endured before succumbing to his wounds.
“He was forced to drink boiling water, had his teeth extracted with a pair of pliers, he was burnt with melting plastic, assaulted with a hammer and another blunt object, and had his private parts stapled.
“The assault was protracted, and consequently there was enough time for you and your coperpetrators to come to their senses.”
He said Gqotholo had played an equal part in the torture and murder and could not claim diminished moral responsibility.
However, Gqotholo was a first offender and had pleaded guilty to the crime, which indicated remorse.
He found there were substantial and compelling circumstances warranting a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence of life behind bars.
He added that the fact that, despite the prolonged and terrible torture, Qwankanisa had never confessed to stealing the laptop, which indicated he was probably innocent.