Johannesburg – Government on Wednesday welcomed the 25 life sentences handed to Eastern Cape serial killer Bulelani Mabhayi.

“This sentencing shows that the wheels of justice have turned,” said acting government spokesperson Phumla Williams.

She commended the efforts of the SAPS and the judicial authorities.

“Government will continue in its endeavour to fight crime. However, this can only be achieved through the co-operation of all sectors of communities.”

She urged people to report crime so that perpetrators could be prosecuted.

Mabhayi, 39, was sentenced in the Eastern Cape High Court, sitting in Butterworth, on Tuesday.

He had pleaded guilty to 20 charges of murder, six of rape, and 10 of housebreaking, dating back to 2007.

The court sentenced him to 20 life terms for each of the murders, five life terms for five of the rapes, and 10 years for the sixth, Williams said.

He was also sentenced to 10 years on each charge of housebreaking.

The sentences, amounting to over 600 years, would run concurrently.

– SAPA