Africa-Press – South-Africa. A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his 83-year-old relative.
The Mpumalanga High Court sitting in Middelburg also gave Nick Kolokoto Mpolokeng six years behind bars for arson and five years for housebreaking and theft.
In a statement, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said investigations revealed that Mpolokeng had left a tavern when he planned to rob Elizabeth Kolokoto.
According to Mohlala, Mpolokeng recruited a friend to accompany him on the mission.
The man agreed. However, on their way to Kolokoto’s house, he changed his mind after a friend they bumped into convinced him otherwise.
However, Mpolokeng continued with his plan to rob the woman.
“Our investigation found that Mpolokeng entered Kolokoto’s yard by jumping the fence. He broke her bedroom window and then entered the house,” said Mohlala.
“He found the granny already awake and demanded money from her. When the granny indicated she had no money, he assaulted her and banged her against the wall until she fell. He ransacked the house only to come out with R36,” said Mohlala.
Mohlala added that Mpolokeng had set paper alight and threw the burning paper under the woman’s bed before he left.
“The house burnt into ashes with the granny inside,” said Mohlala, who added that Mpolokeng then went home, and burnt his bloodstained clothes inside a pit toilet.
The following morning, he realised his running shoes had blood stains on them and threw them in the pit toilet to conceal the evidence.
Police were called to the crime scene, where they found a human skull.
“Dedicated police investigators put all their efforts into ensuring they found the one responsible for this atrocious incident. Ultimately, their hard work paid off as the investigation led them to Mpolokeng.
“That was the beginning of a breakthrough which was enabled mostly by the forensic investigation, which helped a great deal,” said Mohlala.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
