Sebati family murders: Sentencing postponed to June

The postponement was to allow social workers to prepare a pre-sentencing report regarding one of the convicts.

In January, the High Court in Pretoria convicted the woman, who is accused number two in the matter, and her two co-accused of the 2016 murders of her parents and two siblings at their Mmakau home near Brits.

The trio was tried after the woman fingered cousins Tumelo and Kagiso Mokone as her accomplices when she confessed to orchestrating the killings in December 2021.

Police officer Lucky Sebati, his wife Matshepo, their eldest daughter Tshegofatso, who was pregnant at the time, and their youngest child Quinton were all shot dead in what later was revealed to be a staged burglary.

Upon their arrest, the cousins corroborated accuse two’s version.

The trio were charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

However, during the trial, all three later claimed they were assaulted and coerced by the investigating officer, which led to a trial within a trial.

At the time of the trial-within-a-trial, the investigating officer, Isaac Tlhapi, had died in a car crash.

READ MORE:  

The confessions were admitted as evidence in October last year, along with fingerprints and proof of transactions linking the woman and the Mokones to the crime.

During bail proceedings in the Brits Magistrate’s Court, Tlhapi testified that police had obtained proof that an amount of R100,000 had been paid to the Mokones, who were the hitman and getaway driver on the day.

MISSING PRE-SENTENCING REPORT

It emerged in court on Tuesday that while the pre-sentencing reports for Tumelo and Kagiso Mokone were ready, due to confusion between the state prosecutor and the social worker on the case, no report was prepared for Onthatile Sebati.

When postponing the matter, Judge Mashudu Munzhelele reminded social workers that, unlike her co-accused, who were both over 18 in 2016, accused two's report should comply with the Child Justice Act as she was a minor, at just 15 years old, when the murders were committed.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, the woman, who wore a black puffer jacket and bright red lipstick, chatted gleefully with Kagiso.

Tumelo sat quietly in the corner, shyly waving at relatives who sat in the public gallery.

The state confirmed that the victim impact reports have also been completed.

The court has ordered that all the outstanding reports must be ready by 28 May in preparation for the resumption of proceedings on 3 – 7 June 2024.

The Mokone cousins, who were out on R10,000, were taken into custody after they were found guilty.

The woman has been behind bars since her arrest in December 2021.

*The woman cannot be named in line with the Child Justice Act as she was a minor when the crime was committed.