…as nanny and lover stand trial for murdering him
Moorosi Tsiane
A chilling silence hung over the courtroom as a 16-year-old boy from Ha-Leqele relived the day his younger brother was allegedly suffocated to death by the very woman entrusted with their care, and her lover.
Fighting back emotion but unwavering in his account, Lereko Sekokotoana told the court how he escaped death “by a whisker” on 7 April 2025, moments before discovering that his little brother, Liteboho, had been brutally murdered.
Testifying before Justice Tšeliso Mokoko in the High Court this week, he laid bare a nightmare that began with a locked door and ended with a child wrapped in sellotape.
The teenager said he arrived home from school at around 5:30pm and found the house locked. After knocking repeatedly and searching for the spare key in its usual hiding spots, under the carpet and near the sliding door, he grew uneasy. Eventually, one of the accused opened the door.
Inside, Sekokotoana said, the scene was unsettling.
“I arrived home from school that day and I knocked but there was no response. I went to look for the key where we usually keep it, but it was not there. I then looked under the carpet in front of the sliding door but it was still not there, so I knocked until one of the accused opened for me.
“I went into the sitting room and put my bag on the sofa. There were bottles of alcohol and empties in the house, and things were scattered all over. I proceeded to my bedroom to change clothes but, to my surprise, when I opened the wardrobe my clothes were not there except for my boot camp attire. I asked where Liteboho was and ’M’e Motšelisi (nanny) said he was asleep. When I looked on the bed, he was there covered with a blanket,” the teenager said.
The accused, Motšelisi Maooeng — also known as Mathabiso Hlehlisi — and her lover, John Lefoka, stand charged with the murder of Liteboho, as well as assault and theft.
Sekokotoana told the court that what followed still haunted him.
“’M’e Motšelisi then hugged me and said she was going to show me where my clothes were, but she tried to suffocate me using her arm. I managed to push her away. I rushed into the sitting room to get my phone and tried to call my mother, but Ntate John took the phone and dropped the call. He gave the phone to ’M’e Motšelisi who then called my mother and pretended as if she needed help. Ntate John had covered my mouth with his hand. I spat on his hand and he removed it while rubbing off the saliva.”
At that critical moment, fate intervened.
A knock came from a neighbour, Mothibinyane Letsosa, the first state witness in the case. The interruption triggered a quarrel between Maooeng and Lefoka, rendering the teenager his only chance to escape.
“As they were squabbling, I grabbed the key from ’M’e Motšelisi and rushed to the door to unlock it. I went outside and found Ntate Letsosa behind the shack. I tried to explain what was happening but it looked like he was not concentrating on what I was saying, as his eyes were fixed on the door to see who would come out.
“’M’e Motšelisi came running out of the house while Ntate John went out and pretended as if he had just arrived and was visiting the neighbour. That was when Ntate Letsosa rushed and apprehended him. He shouted that I should go get handcuffs from Ntate Lebaka (another neighbour), which I did,” he said.
But the worst was yet to come.
“I asked Ntate Letsosa that we should rush and check on Liteboho in the house, as it had been said he was sleeping. When we got to my bedroom, we uncovered the blanket and found him wrapped with sellotape around his mouth, head and both hands.
“I asked Ntate Letsosa whether he was still alive but he could not answer. I could see that he did not want to break the news to me. From that moment, I knew he was no longer alive. Shortly after, the LDF Rapid Response Unit and the police arrived.”
The courtroom fell silent as he described the moment he realised his brother was gone.
He further told the court that when he left for school that morning, his clothes had been neatly placed in his wardrobe — suggesting that items were removed during his absence.
During cross-examination, Advocate Pelele Ntori, representing Maooeng, put it to Sekokotoana that her client claimed he was too young to overpower her. The teenager did not waver.
“That is her evidence, and I am giving you mine. I pushed her. Maybe I managed because they were drunk, as they had been drinking,” he said.
Adv Ntori further suggested that Maooeng had assisted him in calling his mother. He rejected the claim.
“That is not true. She took my phone from Ntate John while I was trying to call my mother and then called her pretending she needed help.”
Even under questioning from Advocate Makhera, representing Lefoka, the teenager remained firm and consistent in his testimony.
The trial continues.
