Son sentenced for the murder of his mother in Mgaduzweni in the Masoyi area
Bongani Thulani Matsane killed his mother in 2022 after accusing her of practising witchcraft.
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court sentenced Bongani Thulani Matsane (33) to life and an additional five years on September 20 for the brutal murder of his 64-year-old mother, Thembi Ngwenya.
He had accused her of practising witchcraft.
According to the provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Monica Nyuswa, Matsane had been residing with his mother in Mganduzweni in the Masoyi area.
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“In December 2022, Matsane confronted his mother and asked her to stop bewitching him. He said he had been told that things were not well in his life because somebody was bewitching him. On the evening of December 14, 2022, the mother sent her son to buy bread from a local shop, and on his return, he gave her the bread and went out again. He took a hand hoe and approached his mother from behind.
“He struck her on the head and she ran out of the house crying for help. He chased her and continued doing so until she collapsed. He then dragged her into her bedroom, placed her on the bed and set the bed alight. He wiped the bloodstains off the floor. He was arrested later that same day,” said Nyuswa.
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She added that the senior state advocate, Thulani Msibi, said in court that the accused’s plea of guilty was not genuine remorse, and that his belief of his misfortunes couldn’t be used as a compelling reason for the court to deviate from the prescribed sentence of life. Msibi further argued that the accused had taken the life of a person he was supposed to take care of.
When sentencing Matsane, Judge Justice Manthata said the most aggravating factor was the manner in which he had killed his mother, not to mention the abuse of an old person.
Matsane was sentenced to life for murder and five years for defeating the ends of justice. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently; effectively, he will serve life. The court further declared him unfit to work with elderly persons.
