Sacred Heart nuns pray killers will improve themselves

SACRED Heart Convent nuns from Ixopo, still mourning the brutal murder, rape and robbery of their 87-year-old Sister Gertrud Tiefenbacher, would pray that her attackers would not just languish in jail, but improve themselves and help others better themselves.

This was the wish they expressed after Mondli Shozi and Sibongiseni Phungula, both 25, were convicted of the crimes in the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday.

State counsel Sundesh Sankar initially did not accept their claim that she was still moving when they left her and after their defence counsel, advocate Zina Anastasiou, said that she might have died of suffocation or asphyxia after they left.

Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe said that Ixopo district surgeon Dr Yusuf Bhana had adamantly testified that she was strangled with a towel wrapped round her neck and a shoelace tightly knotted over it.

Bhana said that this showed they intended that she should die.

Judge Hadebe found they were guilty of murder and aggravated robbery, and not the alternative charge of theft.

There were sufficient causal links in her strangulation and her rape with their taking items to find that they were guilty of aggravated robbery.

They admitted taking a vacuum cleaner, groceries and other items, worth more than R5 000, from the kitchen.

By their own admission, they were guilty of raping her.

The case continues today when a victim impact statement is to be submitted and with argument by the prosecution and defence counsel on sentence.

The judge may sentence them today, tomorrow or may want more time to consider it.

Yesterday was the third day on which Sister Tiefenbacher’s fellows travelled the 80km from Ixopo to watch proceedings in the court.

In the article, “Nuns stare at the horror rapist”, yesterday, advocate Zina Anastasiou’s name was incorrectly spelt as Anaspasiou.

The error is regretted.