Known as the Ted Bundy of South Africa, Moses Sithole was arguably the most dangerous and yet charming of African serial killer. He was intelligent, polished, and psychopathic. To lure victims, he established a dummy organisation called Youth Against Human Abuse, purportedly dedicated to eradicating child abuse. He would then invite applications from women for various positions. Answering the call was the first mistake because the mild-mannered, smartly dressed executive was not what he seemed.
After the interview, Sithole would lead his victims through an open field where he would then attack them, drag them away from sight, rape them, and strangle them with their own underwear. He then carved the word ‘BITCH’ on their corpses. Sometimes, he would call the victims families to taunt them. Sithole first did this in Atteridgeville, then Boksburg and finally Cleveland in Johannesburg. When the pattern was finally uncovered, the murders became widely known as the ABC murders. They attracted national attention, forcing even President Mandela to personally appeal for public assistance.
Sithole’s spree ended when a witness confessed to having seen Sithole with one of the victims. Background checks revealed that he had been arrested for rape in his teens and had served seven years. When he realized he had been made, Sithole disappeared. He reappeared in October 1995 when he made a call to journalist Tamsen de Beer. In characteristic psychopathic pride, he claimed 76 victims and gave directions for a body that had not been found.
The manhunt began in earnest and ended on a Johannesburg street with Sithole writhing on the ground, immobilized by three bullets, including one in his buttocks. During his trial, Sithole claimed that he had killed women because they reminded him of the women who had falsely accused him of rape. He was found guilty of 40 rapes and 38 murders. He had killed 37 young women and one child. The court sentenced him to a total of 2, 410 years in jail, with a possibility of parole after 930 years. He