Uyinene’s killer sentenced to three life in prison

Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, who handed down the judgment, said the sentence will run concurrently and Botha will only be eligible for parole after 25 years.

The man accused of raping and murdering UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana has been sentenced to three life terms in prison.

Luyanda Botha was sentenced to three life sentences in the Western Cape High Court on Friday. He will serve one life sentence for murder, one each for two counts of sexual assault and five years for defeating the ends of justice.

Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, who handed down the judgment, said the sentence will run concurrently and Botha will only be eligible for parole after 25 years.

Mrwetyana, aged 19, was a film and media student at the University of Cape Town. She was raped and brutally killed in August at Clareinch Post Office by Botha, who was working at the post office at the time. 

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)