The murderer of former First Lady Marike de Klerk has been granted parole by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and will be released from prison at the end of August.

Marike was the ex-wife of former president FW de Klerk.

Luyanda Mboniswa brutally murdered Marike in 2001 in what is believed to be a botched robbery at her Cape Town home.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 and has spent 20 years in jail for murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and housebreaking.

Parole conditions

DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo explains the conditions that Mboniswa will have to comply with while on parole.

“Mboniswa will be admitted into the system of community corrections, whereby he is expected to comply with a specific set of parole conditions for the rest of his natural life. He will be assigned a monitoring official to render supervision duties.

“Normal parole conditions will apply, such as being restricted to his magisterial district. He is also not allowed to have contact with the family of the victim and shall not change his residential address without informing the monitoring official.

“To be emphasised, parole placement forms part of the total rehabilitation programme in correcting the offending behaviour and may include continuation of programmes in the system of community corrections,” Nxumalo says.

He explains the decision to grant parole was done in compliance with the law.

The law

“In compliance with the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, Mboniswa was considered for parole placement having served the minimum required time. The parole placement process started from the preparation of the profile by the Case Management Committee and consideration by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board.

“The National Council for Correctional Services also dealt with the profile before its submission to the minister of Justice and Correctional Services for a decision. The minister is empowered by Section 78 of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 to make a determination on those sentenced to life,” Nxumlalo concludes. – SAnews.gov.za