…Leribe man also ordered to compensate victim’s family M30 000 after fatal row over food
Kabelo Masoabi
A LERIBE man convicted of killing another man during a row over food has been sentenced to 20 years in prison — but can avoid jail altogether by paying a M15 000 fine.
Acting High Court Judge ’Manapo Motebele also ordered Masupha Katse to pay M30 000 compensation to the family of ’Mane Mothatjaneng, whom he fatally assaulted during a village celebration at Ha Seetsa in August 2019.
Mr Katse had denied killing Mr Mothatjaneng, claiming he had acted in self-defence after believing the deceased was reaching for a knife.
But Justice Motebele rejected his version, finding that the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Katse inflicted the fatal injury.
She nevertheless convicted him of culpable homicide rather than murder after finding that he had acted in the heat of passion following sudden provocation.
The bizarre altercation began during a community celebration hosted by Setšabi Katse at Ha Seetsa Malaoaneng on 3 August 2019.
Several sheep had been slaughtered and villagers gathered to eat and drink traditional beer.
Prosecution witness Moitseki Sepono testified that at about 4pm, Mr Katse and another man arrived from neighbouring Ha Chachole, where an initiation ceremony was underway.
The visitors asked for meat and were given a bowl of mutton.
But before eating, Mr Katse allegedly took the bowl and remarked that only dogs ate meat without papa, demanding that the staple food be served with the meat.
Mr Sepono said that while the visitors were eating, he attempted to take some of their food.
Mr Katse allegedly struck his hand with a nylon stick, prompting Mr Mothatjaneng to intervene.
The verbal confrontation escalated into violence.
The Crown’s case was that Mr Katse struck Mr Mothatjaneng on the forehead with a stick, inflicting the injury that ultimately killed him.
Mr Mothatjaneng was taken to hospital the following day but later died.
Fatal head injury
Although none of the Crown’s five witnesses actually saw Mr Katse deliver the fatal blow, prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence and informal admissions he allegedly made to two witnesses.
Mr Sepono testified that he visited Mr Mothatjaneng the day after the altercation and saw a fresh wound on his forehead.
He acknowledged that Mr Mothatjaneng had previously suffered a serious head injury but insisted the wound he saw after the confrontation was new.
The post-mortem subsequently identified a severe head injury as the cause of death.
Mr Katse denied striking Mr Mothatjaneng on the head.
His lawyer, Advocate Mahlehle, argued that he had instead struck him on the chest after believing Mr Mothatjaneng was reaching for a knife concealed in a side bag underneath his coat.
Mr Katse also claimed the deceased had a reputation for violence and had previously stabbed people and killed someone. He said this caused him to believe he faced an imminent attack.
The defence further sought to raise doubt about the fatal head injury, pointing out that Mr Mothatjaneng had previously undergone surgery after suffering a serious head injury in an earlier sword attack.
It argued that the Crown had failed to establish that the fatal injury resulted from his confrontation with Mr Katse.
Justice Motebele rejected that argument.
Three Crown witnesses had seen an injury on Mr Mothatjaneng’s forehead after the altercation, while the post-mortem established that a severe head injury caused his death.
“In the absence of any evidence suggesting that another person inflicted the head injury or that it was sustained in some other manner, the accused’s version cannot reasonably be true,” Justice Motebele ruled.
She also found material contradictions in Mr Katse’s evidence and rejected his self-defence claim.
“The Crown has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused did not act in self-defence. Therefore, his plea of self-defence is rejected,” she ruled.
Provocation saves him from murder conviction
Despite rejecting self-defence, Justice Motebele found that Mr Katse had acted under sudden provocation and had not regained his self-control when he inflicted the fatal injury.
“I have further concluded that the accused killed the deceased in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation and before there was time for the accused to have re-asserted his self-control,” she said.
“I therefore find the accused guilty of culpable homicide.”
Justice Motebele sentenced Mr Katse to 20 years’ imprisonment or, alternatively, a M15 000 fine.
If he pays the fine, he will not serve the prison term.
He must additionally pay M30 000 compensation to Mr Mothatjaneng’s bereaved family.
Justice Motebele said the sentence had to balance restorative justice with the seriousness of taking a human life and the need for deterrence and retribution.
“While I consider restorative justice to be an important consideration, it cannot replace the need for an appropriate criminal sanction,” she said.
She found that a wholly suspended sentence would inadequately reflect “the gravity of the offence, the value which the law places upon the protection of human life and the need for the sentence to serve the purposes of deterrence and retribution”.
