By ‘Mantšali Phakoana
Suspected Quthing serial killer, Mphatšoe Ntjelo, who has been languishing in remand prison for about 10 years facing charges of murdering his three children and younger brother, has finally been found guilty.
His wife ‘Mamotšabi, who was co-accused on all charges, reportedly died in police custody in Quthing in 2015 shortly after their arrest.
Ntjelo now faces the hangman’s noose alone. He will wait until August 7, 2024 when High Court judge Molefi Makara, who convicted him on all counts a fortnight ago, seals his fate.
Ntjelo, who submitted that he was possessed when he committed all the crimes, has been awaiting trial at the Maseru Central Correctional Institution for close to a decade.
Justice Makara found Ntjelo guilty of slaughtering his children then aged 10 years (name not given), Reatšeliseha (three years), and three-months old Nthona, and his younger brother Molefi, supposedly to acquire wealth through ritualistic means. He is said to have buried their mutilated bodies in two of their huts.
The disturbing incidents which left fellow villagers shell-shocked reportedly occurred between October 2014 and February 2015.
Ntjelo and his deceased wife first killed their two elder children in October 2014 and the youngest in February 2015.
The couple went on to dismember the deceased’s bodies before burying their parts in one of the huts at their homestead.
The duo also killed Ntjelo’s young brother, Molefi, in January 2015, and mutilated his body before burying it in the same hut.
When delivering his judgment, Justice Makara noted that investigators had discovered that the deceased’s bodies were disfigured with the purpose of creating ‘muti’ with the hope that it would help the couple have a chain of shops, lots of cattle and taxis.
The bodies were reportedly buried together with the head of a donkey and some ‘muti’.
“There is no reasonable conclusion that can be taken from all these incidents, except that the accused and his wife committed all these inhuman and uniparental incidents.
“In the premises and the analysis of the case, it is found that the crown has proved beyond reasonable doubt you are guilty of having killed the four deceased persons who had to be your closest relatives,” said Justice Makara addressing Ntjelo.
“In January 2015, ‘Mamotšabi ordered Molefi to go and sleep. Later, her husband went to Molefi’s bedroom where she tightened a cloth on his mouth while Ntjelo decapitated him. They took out his heart and visceral fat,” he said.
According to Justice Makara, the murder couple was later detained by suspicious neighbours who had asked about the whereabouts of their children and Ntjelo lied and said that they were in Mohale’s Hoek at his doctor’s place.
But when fellow villagers and the local chieftainess questioned him further, Ntjelo showed them where they had buried the bodies of their children.
Police were called in and they ordered Ntjelo to exhume the bodies.
Justice Makara also noted that Ntjelo had confessed to disembowelling the children’s corpses and burying Nthona in a small hut and Motšabi in a roundavel.
It is said the couple murdered Molefi in February 2015. They took out his heart, mutilated the armpits, cut off his ears and then later buried the body together with Nthona’s in a small hut.
Molefi’s body was buried with the cut-off head on the stomach; it was identifiable as it had not decayed yet,” said Justice Makara.
Ntjelo is also said to have taken a saw and grinded Molefi’s skull to extract his brain before burying his body in a roundavel.
The couple’s case epitomises the state’s delays in affording suspects the right to speedy trials.
In an interview with theReporter last week, Ntjelo’s uncle, Masilo Lechaka, said he was worried that his nephew was in detention for a long time without sentencing.
Lechaka said the delay had taken a toll on him as the only remaining family member.
According to him, Ntjelo had no other family except his younger sister who had since abandoned him after the gruesome incidents occurred.
Lechaka described Ntjelo as a humble and respectful person who would have not harmed another human in his sound mind.
“We were all shocked by what he did because as far as we knew, he was a very respectful and humble human being. I’m not a doctor but I think he committed the gruesome crimes because of depression.
“A few days before the incidents, he had started isolating himself and did not want people coming to his place or engaging with him and his wife.
“I’ve no doubt the long wait in remand prison also weighed him down,” he said.
But Ha Kelebone Village Chief, Mohlori Nkuebe, where Ntjelo comes from was far from sympathetic.
Reacting to Justice Makara’s judgement, Chief Nkuebe made it clear that the convict was not welcome back into the community.
His statement reflects the deep fear and resentment felt by the villagers towards Ntjelo for committing the heinous crimes against his own.
The chief described him as a lazy and money-hungry individual who turned to dark magic for easy riches.
“But he had not been involved in any form of crime before. Unlike other men of his age, he was not even smoking dagga. However, he was just a lazy man who wanted easy money without working hard.
“He does not have any history of violence or mental illness. I believe he was just driven by greed and turned to witchcraft as a result. What he did paints a disturbing portrait of a man who is willing to go to horrific lengths to fulfil his desires.
“The community would not be happy to see him here because they fear he may use their children for rituals too. Even if he could be sentenced to death, we care less. He doesn’t belong in this village anymore. What he did is inhuman,” Chief Nkuebe added.
The registrar of the High Court, ‘Mathato Sekoai, said there are various reasons why a case might drag on for long, such as incomplete investigations.
“I don’t have details on this particular case but as cases are different, reasons for delay of trial or sentencing also differ,” Sekoai explained.
Human rights lawyer, Advocate Lipolelo Monaphathi, said Section 5 of the Constitution permits the infliction of any punishment authorised by law, including the death penalty.
Adv Monaphathi said in civilian courts, murder and treason are punishable by the death penalty in terms of Section 297 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 1981 (CP&E).
However, she pointed out that the death penalty can only be imposed where the court finds that there are no extenuating circumstances.
She said when imposing the death penalty, factors surrounding a murder case have to be considered.
Adv Monaphathi added that for a judge to sentence an accused person to death, the case has to go before the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and has to be presented before the King, who is vested with authority to allow an execution.
She further highlighted that since the law providing for the death penalty was enacted in Lesotho, it has only been applied once in 1994; arguing that this could be among the reasons leading to an increase in murder cases in the country.
On his part, Crime Prevention, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Ex-offenders Association (CRROA) president, Nkalimeng Mothobi, said the mental impact of being stuck in prison without a trial or sentencing can be severe and multi-faceted.
Detainees’ uncertainty of not knowing whether they will be given a fair trial can lead to intense feelings of anxiety and depression, he noted.
Mothobi added that witnesses may also die or relocate while detainees wait for justice.
“In a case where suspects have spent over 10 years in pre-trial detention, speedy trial laws should consider this an egregious violation of the suspects’ rights.
“In most jurisdictions, the maximum length of pre-trial detention before trial is significantly less than 10 years, often measured in months rather than years.
“Prolonged detention in a prison environment with its potential for violence and overcrowding can cause post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks and difficulty in trusting others,” Mothobi said.
Lesotho is part of the United Nations community, which discourages member states from applying the death penalty as it is considered inhuman and degrading.
Lesotho is a signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all of which provide for the sanctity of the right to life.
Article 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that a state that has not abolished the death penalty may impose the death penalty but only pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court.
“Section 5 of the Constitution provides that every human being has an inherent right to life and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. But it adds that no one shall be regarded as having been arbitrarily deprived of his life where he dies in execution of the death penalty pursuant to a sentence imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The death penalty, however, cannot be carried out in respect of a person below 18 years of age or a pregnant woman in terms of Section 297 (b) and 299 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act respectively,” Adv Monaphathi added.
