A drug addict who killed his mother and niece was sentenced to two terms of life in the Thaba Nchu Regional Court on Thursday (16/03). Magistrate Marinda Marx handed Mohau Emmanuel Makhetha (24) a harsh sentence, responding to the request of Mpoti Chalale, state prosecutor.
The accused was found guilty of manslaughter.
He killed his mother, Elizabeth Makhetha (63), and niece Ukuhle Mahlangu (3) on 25 July 2020. Mohau stabbed both victims several times with a knife.
Phaladi Shuping, spokesperson for the National Prosecution Authority (NPA), said the accused killed the victims after his mother would not give him money to buy drugs.
“The accused was smoking drugs with his friends, and when they ran out he went home to ask his mother for some money,” Shuping said.
“His mother told him that she did not have money, and an argument ensued between them; culminating in him stabbing her several times.
“He also stabbed his niece several times, saying her crying was irritating him.”
Shuping said Makhetha then re-arranged the crime scene to make it look like his mother and niece had fallen victim to a failed housebreaking.
He added that after the double murder, Makhetha had unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide on two occasions. During the first attempt, Makhetha stabbed himself in the chest. On the second attempt, he attempted and failed in hanging himself.
