Luyanda Mboniswa
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- The convicted murderer of former first lady Marike de Klerk has been granted parole.
- De Klerk was murdered in her Bloubergstrand home in 2001.
- Luyanda Mboniswa’s parole will come into effect at the end of the month.
The man convicted of murdering former first lady Marike de Klerk has been granted parole.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirmed that Luyanda Mboniswa has been granted parole, which will come into effect on 30 August.
DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said Mboniswa was sentenced to life imprisonment for De Klerk’s murder, as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances and housebreaking.
“In compliance with the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, Mboniswa was considered for parole placement having served the minimum required time,” said Nxumalo.
He said the parole application was signed off by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, who is empowered by the Correctional Services Act to decide on those sentenced to life.
“To be emphasised, parole placement forms part of the total rehabilitation programme in correcting the offending behaviour and may include continuation of programmes in the system of community corrections,” said Nxumalo.
Normal parole conditions will apply to Mboniswa, including not having any contact with the victim’s family.
“Mboniswa will be admitted into the system of community corrections, whereby he is expected to comply with [a] specific set of parole conditions for the rest of his natural life. He will be assigned a monitoring official to render supervision duties,” Nxumalo said.
Former first lady Marike de Klerk.
In May 2003, the then 22-year-old Mboniswa was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and another life term for robbery with aggravating circumstances by Judge John Hlophe in the Western Cape High Court.
At the time, Hlophe said that De Klerk had been subjected to severe assault, “if one looks at the nature of the injuries she suffered” and that “substantial” force had been used to strangle her.
He said Mboniswa had “shown no remorse for the crimes” he committed.
De Klerk, the ex-wife of former president FW de Klerk, was murdered during a robbery in December 2001.
Mboniswa, a security guard from Khayelitsha, was arrested two days after the 64-year-old De Klerk was found stabbed and strangled in the bathroom of her luxury beachfront flat.
He worked as a security guard at Dolphin Beach in Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, where De Klerk had an apartment.