Acclaimed South African Artist Found Guilty Of Murdering Sex Worker

Internationally acclaimed South African artist Zwelethu Mthethwa on Thursday was found guilty of murdering a sex worker in the city of Cape Town in April 2013.

“The Western Cape High Court convicted Mthethwa, whose paintings and photographs have been shown in over 50 solo exhibitions around the world of murder.

“The conviction was based on footage from a surveillance camera and a car tracking device,’’ a media report said.

It said that the video footage showed the 57-year-old artist parking his Porsche, crossing the road and striking down a woman on a sidewalk.

“He then repeatedly and forcefully kicked and hit the woman’s head and body and drove off in his car.The 23-year-old sex worker’s dead body was found by a security guard about an hour after the incident,’’ the media report noted.Judge Patricia Goliath said the camera footage acted as a “silent witness.’’

However, Mthethwa did not testify or hand in a plea.

(dpa/NAN)