5.Causes, motives and triggers
Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode was a product of his circumstances, namely; growing up in a rural community in which faction fights were common. Faction fights emanate from tribal feuds and are fights that occur between rival black groups (Anon, 2012:1). Zikode was exposed to violent behaviour from a young age, which could have influenced his violent acts. His vicious murder spree and rape series was the result of a combination of factors, such as being exposed to faction fights, as well as the events which took place during his childhood and teenage years, namely not being exposed to other children (Pistorius, 2005:220). As a child, Zikode was exposed to faction fights which exposed Zikode to violent behaviour and …show more content…
According to Pistorius (2005: 229) Zikode mentioned to a detective that he would select the victims during his church attendance and follow the victims home in order to see where the victims lived. Pistorius (2005:228) also states that Zikode committed all of his criminal acts within a seven kilometer radius of each other.
Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode commenced his attacks by kicking open the doors of his victims’ homes, thereafter entering the premises (Wetsch, 2005:1). Wetsch (2005:1) also states that Zikode would enter the home of unsuspecting victims and firstly kill the males, whom he did not fear, by shooting them in the head. Zikode would then drag the females of the house to a plantation or field located nearby the victims’ home (Wetsch, 2005:1). Here he would rape the women persistently, once lasting for a period as long as five hours. Zikode would then kill the women after raping them. According to Wetsch (2005:1) on occasions wherein the women would resist him, Zikode would first kill the women after dragging them to a plantation or field. Thereafter, Zikode would have sexual intercourse with the corpse of the female victim, consequently committing the act of necrophilia (Wetsch, …show more content…
The possibility of reoffending is therefore relatively high in the case of Zikode, who does not know how to integrate back into society without committing some kind of criminal act, as evident from his history. It can therefore be said that if not stopped by the law, Zikode will return to his criminal career and most likely take more innocent lives. Before Zikode was caught, he induced great fear into the community in which these horrific acts were committed. He is therefore a danger to society and the risk of future dangerousness and reoffending is comparatively
Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode was a product of his circumstances, namely; growing up in a rural community in which faction fights were common. Faction fights emanate from tribal feuds and are fights that occur between rival black groups (Anon, 2012:1). Zikode was exposed to violent behaviour from a young age, which could have influenced his violent acts. His vicious murder spree and rape series was the result of a combination of factors, such as being exposed to faction fights, as well as the events which took place during his childhood and teenage years, namely not being exposed to other children (Pistorius, 2005:220). As a child, Zikode was exposed to faction fights which exposed Zikode to violent behaviour and …show more content…
According to Pistorius (2005: 229) Zikode mentioned to a detective that he would select the victims during his church attendance and follow the victims home in order to see where the victims lived. Pistorius (2005:228) also states that Zikode committed all of his criminal acts within a seven kilometer radius of each other.
Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode commenced his attacks by kicking open the doors of his victims’ homes, thereafter entering the premises (Wetsch, 2005:1). Wetsch (2005:1) also states that Zikode would enter the home of unsuspecting victims and firstly kill the males, whom he did not fear, by shooting them in the head. Zikode would then drag the females of the house to a plantation or field located nearby the victims’ home (Wetsch, 2005:1). Here he would rape the women persistently, once lasting for a period as long as five hours. Zikode would then kill the women after raping them. According to Wetsch (2005:1) on occasions wherein the women would resist him, Zikode would first kill the women after dragging them to a plantation or field. Thereafter, Zikode would have sexual intercourse with the corpse of the female victim, consequently committing the act of necrophilia (Wetsch, …show more content…
The possibility of reoffending is therefore relatively high in the case of Zikode, who does not know how to integrate back into society without committing some kind of criminal act, as evident from his history. It can therefore be said that if not stopped by the law, Zikode will return to his criminal career and most likely take more innocent lives. Before Zikode was caught, he induced great fear into the community in which these horrific acts were committed. He is therefore a danger to society and the risk of future dangerousness and reoffending is comparatively