Marike de Klerk’s killer to be freed on parole

Marike, the wife of late South African president FW de Klerk, was murdered in December 2001 in her apartment in Cape Town

The former wife of the late former South African president FW de Klerk, Marike de Klerk, was found with several wounds to her head. Picture: Gallo Images/Huisgenoot

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has confirmed the man who murdered Marike de Klerk, the wife of late former South African president FW de Klerk, is expected to be freed on parole from 30 August 2023.

Luyanda Mboniswa was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2003 after being convicted for the murder of De Klerk, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and housebreaking.

Parole conditions

Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said Mboniswa was considered for parole in compliance with the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 and has served the minimum required time in jail.

“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,” Nxumalo said.

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Nxumalo said the parole process started with the preparation of the profile by the Case Management Committee (CMC) and consideration by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB).

“The National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS) also dealt with the profile before its submission to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services for a decision.

“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 correction,” he said.

Murder

De Klerk was murdered in December 2001 in her apartment in Cape Town. The State proved Mboniswa, a 21-year-old security guard at De Klerk’s residence at the time, had committed the murder.

An autopsy revealed De Klerk was strangled to death. Professor Deon Knobel, who carried out the autopsy, said Mboniswa gripped his victim’s neck with such force he broke several bones in her throat and burst a blood vessel in her eye.

Knobel stated his findings led him to believe De Klerk was on her knees when she died. De Klerk was also found with several wounds to her head.

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