Man in court for allegedly killing mother

A man briefly appeared at the Mamelodi Magistrates’ Court in Pretoria for allegedly killing his 72-year-old mother.

Kitja John Mathe, 44, was arrested by Limpopo police at a relative’s home on Sunday, Rekord East reported.

“The suspect was arrested and charged with murder,” said provincial police spokesperson Captain Mavele Masondo.

Masondo said he was handed over to Mamelodi police.

Kitja’s mother Makanana was found in her shack in Phase 3, an informal settlement in Mamelodi East, last week Wednesday, by her niece.

Kitja had apparently initially told the niece that Makanana had gone to visit relatives in Extension 4, Mamelodi East.

The niece went to Extension 4, but Makanana was nowhere to be found.

When she returned to the shack, it was locked.

Residents helped her to break in to investigate.

Makanana’s body was found inside at about 8pm.

She had been chopped up.

Kitja, who shared the shack with his mother, had packed up his clothes and left.

Senior prosecutor advocate Anne Marie Bendeman said it was believed Mathe killed his mother and ran to his father’s home in Limpopo.

Bendeman said the cause of death could not be confirmed, and they were still waiting for a postmortem to be done.

She said no evidence of drugs or any substances were found in Mathe’s system.

Mathe will appear again in the Mamelodi Magistrates’ Court on May 2 for a formal bail hearing.

He will go for mental assessment before then.

– Caxton News Service

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.