Sipho Thwala
Encyclopedia
Sipho Mandla Agmatir Thwala (born 1968) is a South Africa
n rapist
and serial killer
who was convicted in 1999 for the murders of 16 women and 10 rapes and was sentenced to 506 years in prison. Thwala was known by the moniker "The Phoenix Strangler".
Thwala, born and raised in KwaMashu
, began his year-long rape and murder spree in 1996 in KwaZulu-Natal
province. His modus operandi was to lure local women into accompanying him through sugarcane fields of Mount Edgecombe near the town of Phoenix, South Africa with the promise of employment as domestic servants in hotels. Once the couple were deep within the cane fields, Thwala would attack the women, bind them with their own undergarments, rape, strangle and bludgeon them. Afterwards, he would set fire to the cane fields in hopes of destroying any physical evidence of his attack.
Sipho Thwala was arrested in 1997 after South African police matched DNA
found on the victims to DNA taken from Thwala in 1994 when he was arrested and acquitted of a rape.
On March 31, 1999, the Durban, South Africa
High Court found Sipho Thwala guilty of 16 murders and 10 rapes, and sentenced to 506 years in prison.
Thwala is currently being held at C Max
Penitentiary in Pretoria, South Africa.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n rapist
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who was convicted in 1999 for the murders of 16 women and 10 rapes and was sentenced to 506 years in prison. Thwala was known by the moniker "The Phoenix Strangler".
Thwala, born and raised in KwaMashu
KwaMashu
KwaMashu is a township twenty miles north of Durban, South Africa with very high levels of poverty and crime.-History:The township was formed by the apartheid state to house the mass resettlement of Africans that were living in Cato Manor during 1958-65. It is the largest of 3 townships in the area...
, began his year-long rape and murder spree in 1996 in KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
province. His modus operandi was to lure local women into accompanying him through sugarcane fields of Mount Edgecombe near the town of Phoenix, South Africa with the promise of employment as domestic servants in hotels. Once the couple were deep within the cane fields, Thwala would attack the women, bind them with their own undergarments, rape, strangle and bludgeon them. Afterwards, he would set fire to the cane fields in hopes of destroying any physical evidence of his attack.
Sipho Thwala was arrested in 1997 after South African police matched DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
found on the victims to DNA taken from Thwala in 1994 when he was arrested and acquitted of a rape.
On March 31, 1999, the Durban, South Africa
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
High Court found Sipho Thwala guilty of 16 murders and 10 rapes, and sentenced to 506 years in prison.
Thwala is currently being held at C Max
C Max
C Max is the maximum security division of the Pretoria Correctional Services located in Central Pretoria, South Africa. It is run by the South African Ministry of Correctional Services.-Background:...
Penitentiary in Pretoria, South Africa.