A Pretoria high court judge has described as betrayal the involvement of a daughter in the murders of her parents, her heavily pregnant sister and brother.
Judge Mashudu Munzhelele on Tuesday sentenced 24-year-old Onthatile Sebati to 25 years in prison. She then , gave her cousins Tumelo and Kagiso Mokone life imprisonment for the 2016 murders of Othatile’s father, police Const Solomon Lucky Sebati; mother Mmatshepo, a nurse at an old-age home; her 19-year-old pregnant sister Tshegofatso and her three-year-old brother Quinton at their home at Mmakau, near Brits, in the North West.
Onthatile was only 15 years old at the time of the murders while her cousins were both 18.
Tshegofatso was eight months pregnant.
“The murder of four individuals including parents and children is a heinous act of violence, and the fact that accused number two [Onthatile], a family member, was an accomplice in the murder of her parents and siblings where her sister was pregnant acts as an element of betrayal and emotional devastation that heightens the seriousness of the crime,” said Munzhelele as she delivered her judgment on Tuesday.
According to the state, Onthatile hatched the plan to kill her family and convinced her cousins to execute it. It is alleged that she gave the two access to the house that fateful night after handing them her father’s service firearm the previous night.
Onthatile remained outside the house when Kagiso walked in and shot the four occupants, while Tumelo was waiting in Onthatile’s father’s car. Kagiso also took money from the house.
The state alleged that Onthatile instructed Kagiso to shoot her in the thigh before they fled the house with the vehicle. Onthatile’s father owned a funeral parlour and ran a cash loan business.
Onthatile paid her cousins R100,000 from insurance payouts she received after the murders.
After the incident, Onthatile moved out of the house to live with her aunt Japhitaline Sebati.
According to the court, Onthatile started using drugs and in December 2021, five years after the murders, she confessed to relatives, which led to their arrests.
The trio was charged with theft, four counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of a firearm and ammunition. They were found guilty in January this year.
Munzhelele said the incident has been devastating to the family.
“The Sebati family victim statement reveals profound grief, trauma and betrayal. Family members have struggled with mental health issues including depression and anxiety stemming from the brutal murder of their relatives. The fact that accused number two [Onthatile] actively participated in the killing intensifies their pain. The betrayal by Onthatile has left emotional scars,” she said.
Munzhelele said Onthatile’s 25-year sentence for murder will run concurrently with five years for theft and robbery and 10 years for possession of firearm and ammunition. She declared the trio unfit to possess a firearm.
The trio has been given two weeks to appeal their jail terms.
Japhitaline hailed the sentences as “justice served”.
“It is so painful to see a child who is so intelligent… her future being wasted, but all in all I found closure because that is what we have been struggling to get all these years. I just hope she gets rehabilitated,” said the aunt.
Onthatile told social workers in a psychosocial report that her parents were “very strict”. She claimed her mother used to verbally abuse her while her father would physically abuse her.
She said she did not have a good relationship with her family, saying she hated them and wanted her freedom.
However, her aunt told journalists that her parents loved and never abused her.
“The first time they beat her was when they were called to her school and told she brought alcohol to school premises. If she was abused, she would have told me,” Japhitaline said.
The sentence is in accordance with the Child Justice Act.
Source: SowetanLIVE
