Leribe siblings jailed 40 years each 

Kabelo Masoabi 

TWO Leribe siblings will each serve 40 years in prison after the High Court, sitting at the Tšifa-li-Mali Complex, convicted them for the 2020 murder of Masiu Manare Sasanyane of Matlameng, Ha Phalole. 

The pair, 46-year-old Likobela Sepetla and his 40-year-old brother Sepetla Sepetla, both from Matlameng, were found guilty by Acting Justice ’Manapo Motebele, who ruled that they acted in concert with direct intent to kill the deceased. 

Justice Motebele said the brothers planned and deliberately executed the attack in revenge, adding that they continued to assault the victim even after he was lying helpless in water, fracturing his skull and causing severe brain injuries. 

“The court cannot turn a blind eye to such an offence,” Justice Motebele said.  

“Life is a sacred gift from God, and no one has the right to take it away. Society looks to the courts to protect the sanctity of human life.” 

Evidence presented in court showed that Likobela and Mr Sasanyane had a prior altercation in 2019, which the court accepted as a possible motive for the killing. Justice Motebele noted that although the first accused’s leg was allegedly broken during that incident, the accused had ample time thereafter to resolve the dispute through lawful means. 

The court heard that on 12 May 2020, the two brothers ambushed Mr Sasanyane near the Morotong River in a forested area close to Ha Sebalabala. Armed with a sword and a lebetlela fighting stick, the brothers launched what the court described as a coordinated and sustained attack. 

A witness testified that Likobela initiated the assault by chasing Mr Sasanyane, who fell into the river while attempting to escape. While Mr Sasanyane was unarmed and vulnerable, Sepetla joined in and the two men repeatedly struck him with weapons. 

Mr Sasanyane had been in the company of two other men at the time, who fled when the attack began and watched helplessly as the assault unfolded. 

Three additional Crown witnesses corroborated this account, telling the court they found the brothers still attacking the victim at the scene. One witness said one of convicted brothers prevented bystanders from intervening before continuing the assault. 

“The evidence accepted by this court establishes that both accused actively participated in the assault upon the deceased. Their actions were not passive; each associated himself with the physical attack,” Justice Motebele said. 

The court noted that the assault targeted a vital part of the body—the head—and was carried out with significant force. Post-mortem findings revealed a severe open wound to the occipital region of the skull, with exposed brain matter, confirming the extreme violence inflicted. 

“The nature of the weapons used, the force employed, and the targeting of a vulnerable part of the body point to a deliberate and calculated assault,” the judge said. 

Applying the doctrine of common purpose, the court found that the Sepetla brothers shared a unified intention and acted together in furtherance of an unlawful objective.  

“The accused persons, acting in furtherance of a common purpose, lay in wait for the deceased and attacked him with dangerous weapons, inflicting fatal injuries. In these circumstances, this court is satisfied that they intended to kill.” 

Although the accused had initially pleaded guilty, the court emphasised that the totality of the evidence proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. 

In mitigation, the court heard that the first accused is the eldest of three siblings and assumed breadwinner responsibilities after the death of his parents in the 1980s, sustaining himself by tilling villagers’ fields for payment. He is unmarried and has no children. 

The second accused is married with four minor children and previously worked at construction sites in South Africa. 

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