Pretoria – Onthantile Sebati was a teenager all those years ago when she callously organised a hit on her dad, mom, pregnant sister, and six-year-old brother.
Sebati not only paid the two hitmen R50 000 each, she even handed them a gun, keys to a getaway car and on the fateful day opened the gate for them to enter her home to commit the dastardly murders.
On Tuesday, (22 October 2024), the Pretoria High Court sentenced 22-year-old Sebati to 25 years of direct imprisonment for each of the four counts of murder, 10 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, five years for theft, five years for possession of a firearm, and an additional five years for possession of ammunition.
Sebati was sentenced in accordance with the Child Justice Act, Sections 69 and 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
The judge ordered that her sentence be backdated to her arrest on 16 December 2021.
Evidence before the court proved that Sebati conspired with her two male accomplices to murder her family at their home in Mmakau, North West Province.
On 6 December 2016, Tumelo Mokone and Kagiso Mokone collected her father’s firearm during the day.
That evening, Sebati pretended to dispose of water, but in reality, she opened the gate for her accomplices and handed Kagiso her father’s car keys.
Tumelo then entered the house and fatally shot Sebati’s 42-year-old father, 40-year-old mother, 19-year-old pregnant sister, and 6-year-old brother.
The two men fled the scene in Sebati’s father’s car but abandoned it, shortly afterward, when it got stuck in the mud.
On 16 December 2021,
Sebati turned herself in to the police and confessed to the crime, leading to the arrest of Tumelo and Kagiso on 18 December 2021.
Both men also made confessions to the police, detailing their roles in the murders.
However, during the trial, all three accused pleaded not guilty and disputed the confessions.
After a trial-within-a-trial, the judge ruled the confessions admissible.
Prosecutor Advocate Eric Sihlangu led evidence proving that Sebati had arranged the murder of her family, paying Tumelo and Kagiso R50 000 each for the crime.
Kagiso’s fingerprints were also found in the stolen vehicle, further implicating him.
During sentencing, Tumelo and Kagiso asked for leniency, citing their age (18 at the time of the offences) and lack of previous criminal records.
However, Advocate Sihlangu asked the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentences, arguing that the seriousness of their crimes, coupled with their lack of remorse, warranted no lesser punishment.
Judge Mudzhelele concurred with the prosecution, noting that despite their young age, the accused had committed heinous acts and posed a significant threat to society.
She emphasised that the lack of remorse from the accused indicated a failure to take responsibility for their actions.
Judge Mudzhelele sentenced 25-year-old Tumelo and 25-year-old Kagiso to four life terms each for four counts of murder, 15 years each for robbery with aggravating circumstances, five years each for theft, five years each for possession of a firearm, and an additional five years each for possession of ammunition.
Judge Mudzhelele ruled that all sentences for the three individuals would run concurrently, and they were declared unfit to possess a firearm.
“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentencing,” Gauteng spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
