Lungisani Innocent Mdlolo, dubbed ‘One Man’, terrorised the Pimville and Klipspruit communities in Soweto. Bongiwe Mchunu
Johannesburg – The saga surrounding a notorious Soweto serial criminal – dubbed “One Man” for executing his crime spree, such as rape, murder and armed robbery, by himself – was expected to finally conclude on Wednesday.
Lungisani Innocent “One Man” Mdlolo was convicted in 2015 on 29 crimes – including four murders, three rapes and over a dozen housebreaking and armed robbery counts – which he committed on 36 victims in a six-month reign of terror between July and December 2012.
One of his heinous crimes included raping a then 16-year-old girl and killing her 21-year-old brother with a bullet to the chest – all of this in front of the siblings’ mother.
However, according to Phindi Mjonondwane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng , Mdlolo escaped from custody at the Palmridge Magistrate’s Court in 2015 on the day he was to be sentenced.
“The accused was nicknamed ‘One Man’ as he was single-handedly terrorising the community in Soweto. When he escaped, the victims were petrified that he was going to come back and kill them,” Mjonondwane said.
She added that “One Man” had been on the run since 2015, and was recaptured in Nigel, Ekurhuleni, in December last year.
Things took a turn for the worse when the judge presiding over Mdlolo’s sentencing procedure – the veteran Judge George Maluleke – died while the convicted serial criminal was a fugitive.
But, before his death, Judge Maluleke had typed up his sentence decision, which has since been retrieved and was to be delivered today in the South Gauteng High Court by Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng.
Nathi Mncube, spokesperson for the country’s judiciary, said he was not in a position to discuss where Judge Maluleke had stored his sentencing decision after typing it out.
“But the practice is that any judge may hand down a judgment that has been prepared by another judge, to expedite the process and avoid delays,” Mncube explained.
In another of “One Man’s” gruesome crimes, Mdlolo assaulted a six-year-old boy in front of his mother, while robbing her of their possessions, which included a video camera and R3500 in cash.
By IOL News.