Convicted murderer sentenced to 10 years behind bars
Ratsoeu was rushed to Madadeni Provincial Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
An illegal immigrant has been jailed for 10 years for stabbing to death a Lesotho national in November 2023 after a quarrel in the Riverside Industrial area involving her boyfriend.
The Newcastle Regional Court heard that Thandeka Myeni and her boyfriend were involved in an argument during which she brandished a kitchen while under the influence of alcohol.
An older man, Khathatso Ratsoeu, intervened to calm her down after which Myeni stabbed him in the chest.
While on the way with Ratsoeu to the hospital, Myeni tried to flee the scene and also tried to dispose of the knife used to stab him.
However, she was quickly apprehended by those who had witnessed the quarrel and the police were called to the scene.
Myeni was arrested, and a murder charge was opened and investigated by Detective Warrant Officer CJD Meyer.
Myeni made her first court appearance on November 27, 2023, and her first formal bail application on December 4, 2023. Bail was denied as she was found to be an illegal immigrant in the country, making her a flight risk.
The case was then referred to a regional court on February 23, 2024, and was again remanded to June 12 for a guilty plea, where Myeni was found guilty of murder.
In his verdict, the Regional Court Magistrate, T.C.L. Colditz, pointed out that this offence ‘is quite prevalent in the Magisterial District of Newcastle, especially in the industrial area, where conflict regularly arose among workers.
Magistrate Colditz commented that liquor abuse also contributed to these offences, noting that ‘human life was not cheap’.
“The deceased was not even part of the dispute that Myeni had with her boyfriend; (but) he was the one who paid the price.”
Newcastle SAPS station commander, Brigadier V. Naidoo, commended Detective Warrant Officer C.J.D Meyer, for his ‘meticulous investigation of the case and ensuring that justice was served for the family.’
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