Everson Luhanga
EXCLUSIVE: Mark Khumalo, the father of the man accused of murdering six sex workers in central Joburg, tells Everson Luhanga that his son was motivated by revenge.
Two of the six sex workers whose decomposing bodies were found in a Johannesburg panel beater’s store in inner city Johannesburg were pregnant.
One of the six bodies was found with a bullet wound and evidence suggests that the other women were strangled.
These are the results of the post-mortem shared with Scrolla.Africa by family members.
In an exclusive interview, Mark Khumalo, the suspect’s father, said his son developed feelings of anger towards sex workers after he was arrested on a charge of rape in June 2021, and held for ten months without trial.
“I only learned now that he was arrested after a sex worker who he slept with opened a case at the police station.
“Apparently my son couldn’t pay the full amount agreed with the sex worker which made the woman angry and so she laid rape charges against him.
“He was in police custody for 10 months waiting to be tried but I don’t know what happened to the case. He came out of prison a different person,” he claimed.
“I am thinking that this could be revenge for the anger he developed while in jail due to that arrest.
“You can see that he was targeting a certain group of people and it was not just a random killing…. That directs us as a family to think and conclude that he was targeting sex workers in revenge for what happened to him in 2021.”
Khumalo said that his son did not gain anything from killing the women.
But he said he is angry and he feels like strangling his son because he feels so bad about what he did.
He said his son grew up a peaceful man who loved everyone. “He was one of the sweetest people in the family. He was quiet, calm, and never spoke much.”
He said he would not help his son get bail – and will leave the police to do their job.
“I wouldn’t be excited to see him out of jail now.
“There should be a proper process of rehabilitation where professionals like social workers, psychologists, and other professionals assess him before coming back to society. For now, I am happy to see him inside.”
The suspect first appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court last week Tuesday. Journalists and people in the court gallery were not allowed to take photos of him during court proceedings because the police still had to conduct an identity parade.
On Sunday Khumalo told Scrolla.Africa that he was called to the Johannesburg Central police station where police were doing an identity parade with some of the witnesses.
He said later on Sunday, family members held prayers in Boksburg seeking God’s intervention for peace and not to see the repeat of what his son did.
Scrolla.Africa broke the story on Sunday night after police made the horrifying discovery of six bodies at the building in the inner city.
The suspect is to appear again in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Pictured above: The crime scene on the night that the bodies were discovered – dark and menacing.
Picture Credit: Everson Luhanga
