Onthatile Sebati convicted of family’s 2016 murder
Onthatile Sebati and her two cousins, Tumelo and Kagiso Mokone, have been convicted of murdering her father, mother, and two siblings in 2016.
The 21-year-old and her two accomplices were convicted in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
They were found guilty on all charges, including four counts of murder, theft, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The NPA in Gauteng’s Lumka Mahanjana says the state was able to prove in court that Sebati conspired with her two cousins to kill her family members at their home at Mmakau in North West.
Sebati subsequently handed herself over to the police and confessed to the crimes.
Her confession led to the arrest of Tumelo and Kagiso in December 2021.
"After their arrests, the two also made confessions to the police, stating the role they each played the night Sebati’s family was killed,” said Mahanjana.
"However, during the trial, they all pleaded not guilty to the charges and disputed the confessions. After the trial-within-a-trial, the judge ruled that the confessions were admissible.”
Mahanjana said the state proved that Sebati organised a hit on her family and paid the two accomplices R50 000 each for the job.
"Kagiso was also linked to the offence by his fingerprints, which were found in the car. The three were found guilty of all the charges preferred against them".
The matter has been postponed to 16 April for sentencing.
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