21-year-old Sifiso Mkhwanazi has been Charged With The Murder Of 6 Sex Workers in South Africa.

A 21-year-old man from South Africa, Sifiso Mkhwanazi, has been accused of the brutal murders of six sex workers, including one who was pregnant. Recently, he faced additional charges of rape. 

Mkhwanazi was arrested in October of last year when the decomposed bodies of the victims were discovered at a workshop owned by his father.

Appearing before the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Mkhwanazi's trial took an unexpected turn. While the prosecutors initially intended to transfer the case to a high court, they now revealed that they had further details to present. 

Prosecutor Tshepo Mahange kaMzizi informed the court about another matter related to the Sexual Offenses Act, which occurred prior to the events surrounding the six murders. The prosecution intends to review Mkhwanazi's rape case and potentially add it to the ongoing murder trial. 

Previously, the 21-year-old was only accused of killing one of the sex workers, but he has now been charged in connection with the other five murders. The trial has been adjourned until August, 2023.

South Africa has long grappled with alarmingly high rates of sexual violence against women. According to the National Institute of Health, the country is often referred to as the "rape capital of the world," with 10,818 rape cases reported in the first quarter of 2022 alone. 

Shockingly, the rate of intimate partner femicide in South Africa is five times higher than the global average, as reported by the same institute.

Organizations such as Cesvi shed light on the underlying causes of this pervasive violence. Poverty plays a significant role, with 40% of men in South Africa admitting to having abused their partners and one in four having committed sexual crimes. 

Cesvi emphasizes that even if only 2% of these cases result in charges, the prevalence of violence against women is distressingly high, with approximately one in four women experiencing beatings or abuse.