Man sentenced to life in jail for kidnapping & murder of his stepdaughter

A 52-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Letlhabile near Brits.

Benjamin Santa Mokone was sentenced at the Pretoria High Court on Friday, for the kidnapping and murder of his stepdaughter, Keitumetse Hope Tumelo.

“The court heard evidence that Keitumetse was accompanied by her mother in the morning of Tuesday, 22 June 2021, to board a taxi to school.

“This was the last time her mother saw her alive. Later the same day at about 15:00, the mother confirmed with the caretaker that her child boarded the taxi, but she waited for her in vain next to the Main Road in Letlhabile. She, after getting worried, called the taxi driver, who confirmed that he dropped the child off at Block G, Letlhabile,” North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh, said in a statement on Sunday.

She said a missing person report was made at Letlhabile police station and the case was transferred to Brits Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS).

“Excellent Investigation work by Captain John Legoale of the Brits FCS, led to the arrest of Mokone shortly after the incident was reported. Evidence heard in court revealed that camera footage obtained showed how Mokone kidnapped Keitumetse when she alighted from the taxi in the afternoon of Tuesday, 22 June 2021.

“After his arrest, he took the police to Letlhabile Block H at a bushy area, where the half-naked body of Keitumetse was found with multiple injuries due to severe assault.”

Mokone appeared in the Brits Magistrate’s Court on June 25 in 2021 and abandoned his bail application. He was kept in custody until his sentencing.

The case was transferred to Pretoria High Court, where Mokone pleaded guilty on both charges of kidnapping and murder.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and five years for kidnapping.

North West provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, welcomed the life imprisonment sentence and commended by Captain John Legoale as well as the prosecution for securing the sentence and reiterated that those who perpetrate gender-based violence will be shown no mercy.

-IOL

In other news – Prince Kaybee reacts to Minnie Dlamini’s hot bikini snaps

South African artist, Prince Kaybee gushes over Minnie Dlamini’s body after some Twitter users trolled her. The TV personality shared photos of herself in a swimsuit, which revealed her body; a Twitter user took the photos and mocked her body, using derogatory terms.

It was said that her body depreciated after the divorce from her ex-husband, Quinton Jones. Learn More