Conviction New religious movements Satanic-branded violence Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa · 2019

South Africa: 'Electus per Deus' leader given thirteen life sentences over eleven killings

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Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

Cecilia Steyn, leader of the 'Electus per Deus' (Chosen by God) group, claiming occult and spiritual-warfare authority

Organization

'Electus per Deus'

Archive classification

This is the archive's application of its published inclusion test. The cited record appears below.

CORE for the inside victims: members killed on the direction of the woman whose claimed spiritual authority organised the group, with several victims drawn from members' own households — the authority ran the killing, exactly as the criterion describes.

Violent occult ideology or sacrifice
Prophecy or divine command

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2019-08-19 · convictions and sentences

Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, South Africa. Convicted in June 2019 and sentenced on 19 August 2019, Cecilia Steyn received thirteen life sentences plus 155 years, Zak Valentine eight life sentences plus 93 years, and Marcel Steyn seven life sentences plus 144 years, for eleven murders committed between 2012 and 2016 alongside fraud and robbery counts. Other participants, including Marinda Steyn, were convicted in earlier separate proceedings. The prosecuting authority documented the group's operation under Cecilia Steyn's claimed spiritual authority.

Documented coercion mechanisms

members directed to kill under the leader's claimed spiritual authority
victims drawn from members' own families and households

Cited record

Sources

official prosecutor release sentencing release National Prosecuting Authority: 'Indefinite Life Sentences for Krugersdorp's Electus Per Deus Cult'.: The prosecuting authority's own sentencing release.
national newspaper court reporting sentencing report News24: sentencing report.: National corroboration.

Source provenance

Source access and integrity log

This log records source retrieval and file integrity. It does not mean that an automated process independently confirmed every statement in the source.

Source and tier basis: https://www.npa.gov.za/sites/default/files/media-releases/Indefinite%20Life%20Sentences%20for%20Krugersdorp%E2%80%99s%20Electus%20Per%20Deus%20Cult.pdf Corpus classification: official-prosecutor-release; evidentiary role: sentencing-release. SHA-256 ebafa1698f49e401d1e482e8ddea74307d1f3f852f6fbbfce690c9148fff2dfb
Retrieval: 2026-07-20 · Preserved; Bound by Fear automated source-preservation ledger
Source and tier basis: https://www.news24.com/krugersdorp-killers-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-20190819 Corpus classification: national-newspaper-court-reporting; evidentiary role: sentencing-report. SHA-256 fa8db010b038ce78893bffc5850b393e02f3d71f9abe991c33a99568303ad23c
Retrieval: 2026-07-20 · Preserved; Bound by Fear automated source-preservation ledger

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