Amantle Samane's mother on sentencing of daughter's killer: 'Perpetrators will think twice'

JOHANNESBURG - The mother of slain six-year-old Amantle Samane, Ntombi, said she hopes the sentence handed to her daughter’s killer will be a deterrent to other perpetrators.

The Johannesburg High Court handed 25-year-old Phethe Simiao two life sentences for the murder and rape of Samane.

In October last year, the Mozambican national grabbed Samane from the street while she was playing in Orlando east, Soweto, raped her and then strangled her to death.

He has also been sentenced to two years each for the kidnapping and being in the country illegally.

Samane’s mother said while she is pleased with the sentencing of Simiao, she still wants to know what drove him to commit the crime.

She added that she hopes the sentence will send a strong message to other perpetrators of violence.

“It is enough! It’s enough! Too many children have died at the hands of men – innocent children. I think after this sentence, any other perpetrators will think twice.”

But the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s Phindi Mjonondwane said they can only hope that the sentence will be a deterrent.

“That’s a question we continue to ask ourselves as the NPA that what will it take for things to change in society because in many other parts of the country the courts have handed stringent sentences, but these crimes continue unabated.”

Mjonondwane said the continuous acts of violence against women and children will not stop the NPA from carrying out its mandate.