New parole hearing for Moodley

CONVICTED murderer Donovan Moodley is expected to attend a new parole hearing today (Wednesday) and the family of Leigh Matthews are not happy.

Moodley is serving a life sentence for murdering Matthews, a 20-year-old student who at the time of her death was attending Bond University in Johannesburg.

On July 9, 2004, Moodley abducted Matthews at gunpoint from the campus parking lot and pushed her into the boot of his vehicle.

Shortly after he kidnapped her, a ransom demand was made to Matthews’ father Rob, who dropped off R50 000 at a toll plaza south of Johannesburg.

On July 24, 2004, Matthews’ body was found in a veld in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg. She had been shot four times.

In 2005, Moodley pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping and extortion.

He was given life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for kidnapping and 10 years for extortion.

He has been eligible for parole since 2018. He was denied parole in January last year.

He then challenged the decision in the Gauteng High Court, claiming that the parole board did not consider his eligibility fairly and objectively.

Judge Stuart Wilson found that the minutes of the hearing were incoherent and he was unable to test Moodley’s claims.

He then set aside the decision and ordered that a new hearing be held for Moodley before March 31.

Singabakho Nxumalo, the national spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services, confirmed that the parole hearing would take place on Wednesday.

“We cannot release the exact place where it will take place because the last hearing crashed.”

Nxumalo was referring to the previous hearing where there were reportedly too many interruptions, resulting in the minutes not being recorded properly.

Rob Matthews, the father of the deceased, said the family were disappointed to hear about the hearing.

“We were disappointed to learn through the press that a new parole hearing has been ordered by the court.

“From our perspective, it appears that there was little appreciation by the court of the plight of victims in this matter.

“This is terribly sad and clear that South Africa is a long way from a victim-centric approach to justice.”

Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA), a non-profit organisation which has rallied behind the family, said the matter was distressing.

“While parole is part of the criminal justice system it remains a very opaque process that appears to favour the convict.

“WMACA has had experiences of parole being granted where there was no evidence of either remorse or rehabilitation.”