Hope out of Rhodes Park despair

At the end of the horrific Rhodes Park double murder case that has gripped the country since 2015, South Africa breathed a sigh of relief that the three men charged for their crime received the sentences that they deserved.

These scoundrels made headlines when their heartless and callous action of drowning Zukisa Kela and Sizwe Tyeke at Rhodes Park in Kensington and proceeded to rob and rape their two partners.

Judge Papi Masopa sentenced each of them to two life terms for raping the women and two life terms for killing their husbands.

They were also given 15 years to run concurrently with the life terms. The state put up a good case to get justice.

The two women, Siphokazi Tyeke and Jabulani Mbatha have had to bear the burden of the survivor’s guilt syndrome from the terrible ordeal they were subjected to by these criminals. Today they suffer from severe psychological trauma that had earlier led them to try and commit suicide and may never entirely heal from the barbarism they were subjected to.

What was supposed to be a stroll in a public park ended in unfathomable tragedy of men visiting such cruelty on their fellow beings.

Edmore Ndlovu, Thabo Nkala and Mduduzi Mathibela are now paying for their crime.

We applaud the champion cops who worked tirelessly on the case and the prosecution for a job well done.

There has been too many high profile cases where the police failed to crack them, diminishing the public’s trust in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

Shortly after the arrest of the three murderers there was talk that a fourth suspect was arrested in Zimbabwe and police came out to say some of the suspects they were looking for had fled there.

While the three have been found guilty and we are glad that they should rot in jail, the remaining suspects are still out there.

The good work that the police have done need not stop with the conviction of the three. Justice will be fully served when the rest of the gang of louts are found and made to answer to their dastardly deeds.

We therefore appeal to the police to continue the search for the other suspects and bring them to book. Until all the criminals have been arrested and locked up, Tyeke and Mbatha might never get closure.

And despite the horror visited on them, Tyeke’s announcement that she has forgiven the men as she embarks on a difficult journey of healing, has humbled all of us to realise that it is important to reach deep within ourselves and not let the bad define us.