Cape Town - Convicted killer and rapist Luyanda Botha has denied attempting to rape a nursing student, claiming he was merely trying to see if his girlfriend was cheating on him, the Wynberg Regional Court has heard.
Botha, who was convicted for the rape and murder of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana, returned to court in recent months on attempted rape charges, which date back to 2014.
The Post Office employee was thrust into the media in 2019, after he was arrested for killing 19-year-old student Mrwetyana, at the Clareinch Post Office in Claremont in August that year.
At the time, court documents showed the teen had purchased clothes online and the parcel was due for collection at Clareinch Post Office.
Botha later pleaded guilty to charges of rape and murder, and was sentenced to three life sentences by the Western Cape High Court.
Taking the stand on Friday in the Wynberg Regional Court after losing an application to be acquitted, Botha told the magistrate he needed to explain the context and his mindset on the day of the incident in 2014.
He testified he had met his former girlfriend, a nursing student. They had planned to get married, but were experiencing problems to cheating.
Botha claims on the day of the incident, he went to the college after speaking to his girlfriend, but could not get hold of her.
The security guards let him enter without following the correct protocols, he said. On his arrival at his girlfriend’s room, he could not find her.
Botha said he looked in various places and opted to look in the female showers as he could hear water running.
He said he called her name but when he got no response, he looked over the cubicle. “I remembered she had told me about stuff students were up to in the showers that were sexually related. When I did not get a response from the person behind the door, I could not help but suspect the person behind the door was her and she was not alone,” Botha said.
Instead, he found the complainant who screamed and he ran away. Botha claims he returned to the shower to explain what had transpired, where the complainant had fallen on the ground with her towel undone, and she was screaming hysterically. He claimed to not have assaulted her, saying he was only trying to explain what had happened.
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
Cape Argus