27s gang member sentenced to life for rape, murder of ex-girlfriend on 21st birthday
Calvin Cloete, a member of the notorious 27s gang, has been sentenced to two life terms and 31 years in prison after he admitted to planning and executing the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Carmen Gouws, in an attack marked by extreme brutality and premeditated intent.
The sentencing at the Vredendal Magistrate’s Court this week followed Cloete’s confession, which detailed how on 7 October 2023, he dragged Gouws into an orchard while wielding an axe, knowing he intended to kill her.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, Gouws’s post mortem showed that “no part of her body was spared from injuries”.
Cloete, a 38-year-old Captain 1 rank within the 27s gang, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including attempted murder, rape, kidnapping, and murder within a domestic relationship.
While he initially denied premeditation, deputy director of public prosecutions advocate Louise Freister-Sampson’s cross-examination forced Cloete to concede that he intended to kill Gouws as he dragged her from her house, axe in hand.
The pair’s tumultuous relationship, which began when Gouws was 13 and Cloete 29, was marred by persistent violence, with Cloete saying he “beat her up often”.
In Cloete’s account of the murder, he recounted using an axe to kill Gouws on her 21st birthday. He said they were on a date, but she had another love interest. Cloete said that after “intercourse”, Gouws threatened to report him for rape.
Her postmortem revealed extreme brutality, with injuries covering her entire body, including shoe imprints on her back from Cloete repeatedly stomping on her.
Cloete told the court that he briefly considered turning himself in after the murder as was feeling “guilty” but chose instead to “hustle” first, citing his gang allegiance.
Cloete’s prior convictions are extensive, including four counts of malicious damage to property and eleven counts of assault.
Additionally, he faced a second attempted murder charge for stabbing Isak Booi in the neck during a separate altercation. In court, he admitted to carrying a knife as part of his gang identity and said he would continue doing so, even if released.
In aggravation of sentence, advocate Freister-Sampson described Cloete as the embodiment of “toxic masculinity” and a representation of the brutal violence that continues to endanger South African women. She said that Gouws was groomed into having a relationship with Cloete.
“If he couldn’t have her, he believed no one could,” she said, adding that life imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence for the crime.
Judge Slingers concurred, sentencing Cloete to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of Gouws, with additional terms of 13 years for attempted murder, five years for kidnapping, and another 13 years for the attempted murder of Booi.
She ruled that Cloete would not be eligible for parole until serving at least 25 years in prison.
The Western Cape director of public prosecutions, advocate Nicolette Bell, expressed “shock” at the violence inflicted on Gouws, but emphasised the dedication of the investigative and prosecutorial teams who brought Cloete to justice.
Bell said that the case was one among hundreds handled daily in South Africa, all underscoring the pressing need to address gender-based violence.