Moorosi Tsiane
THE Principal Chief of Tšakholo, Tebang and Ha- Seleso in Mafeteng, Khoabane Mojela, has been found guilty of murdering his commoner, Tšenolo Letsie in June 2020.
Justice ‘Mabatṧoeneng Hlaele found Chief Mojela guilty yesterday and revoked his bail, thus remanding him in custody to await his sentencing slated for next Thursday.
The trial started early last year before Justice Hlaele, prosecuted by Advocate (Adv) Lehlanako Mofilikoane while one Adv Makhera was the chief’s lawyer.
According to the evidence led by the Crown, Chief Mojela had always despised Letsie and accused him of bewitching him.
On the fateful day, 18 May 2020, Chief Mojela found Letsie at the village shop where he was talking to the owner of the shop. He greeted the owner and started chastising Letsie.
He threw a tantrum, accusing Letsie of bewitching him. He further accused the deceased of giving him a nasty look when he was greeting the shop owner.
As Chief Mojela was throwing his tantrum, Letsie stood up and left for his car but before he could reach it, Chief Mojela withdrew his pistol and shot him in the back.
Chief Mojela then handed himself over to the police while Letsie was rushed to a local clinic which referred him to Mafeteng Hospital.
Mafeteng Hospital refereed him to Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH). He was after a few days discharged at QMMH. He had some complications while at home and was rushed to Ntšekhe Hospital in Mohale’s Hoek where he met his demise on 2 June 2020.
The postmortem report indicated that Letsie’s cause of death was traumatic perforation of the heart and internal bleeding caused by the shooting.
Chief Mojela was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charge was later changed to murder following the death of the deceased.
In his defence, Chief Mojela had said the look Letsie gave him that fateful day was threatening as there had always been bad blood between them.
When Letsie stood to go to his vehicle, he said he shot him as he suspected Letsie was reaching for a gun. He also claimed to have been mentally disturbed that day, alleging he had not taken his medication as he suffers from epilepsy.
Justice Hlaele ruled in favour of the Crown, saying it had proved that Chief Mojela had killed Letsie intentionally.
She therefore found him guilty of murder.
“The Crown has discharged its onus and proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had a motive to kill the deceased. The accused disliked the deceased who did nothing to provoke him. It was as if the mere existence of the deceased nauseated the accused. He was irritated by the fact that they breathed the same air.
“Nothing justifies the killing of the deceased. I find you guilty of killing the deceased and your bail is revoked,” ruled Justice Hlaele.
Chief Mojela will appear in court on Tuesday to argue in mitigation of sentence. His actual sentencing is scheduled for 22 February 2024.
