In 2017, Sikangele Mki pleaded guilty to 30 counts of rape and countless other charges. While taking any serial rapist off the streets is a win for society, this case represented a milestone for DNA in SA.
Authorities had not suspected Mki of the crimes at the time of his initial arrest. He had been arrested, and then convicted, on a common assault charge. However, when his DNA was taken as part of the mandated collection of DNA from convicted offenders and placed into the national database, he came up as a match to 30 unsolved rapes.
In today’s episode of True Crime South Africa, we chat to Vanessa Lynch of DNA for Africa.
Her journey into DNA advocacy started with a traumatic incident of violent crime and, through her refusal to accept the status quo, she has been instrumental in the passing of DNA legislation in the country.
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