Africa-Press – South-Africa. A North West man has been sentenced to an effective six years’ direct imprisonment for causing the death of his two-year-old daughter by the North West High Court sitting in the Klerksdorp Regional Court.
Regional National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Henry Mamothame said Mokete Legodi was jailed for culpable homicide and defeating the ends of justice, emanating from his daughter’s disappearance on 13 May 2021.
According to Mamothame, Legodi, 48, took his daughter from his mother’s home in Joubert to visit him. The child’s mother was hospitalised at the time and had not consented to the visit.
Relatives assumed he would bring the child back, but when asked, he denied taking the child, prompting them to open a case with the police on 15 May.
Legodi was arrested on 16 May and charged with kidnapping, defeating the ends of justice and murder.
Concerned neighbours and the child’s family continued the search, which led them to Legodi’s house, where they found the child’s decaying body which was hidden in the ceiling and wrapped in a black plastic bag.
“In his defence, Legodi argued that he and the child fell while he was carrying her, and upon realising that the child had died from the fall, he panicked and was afraid to report the incident. He also told the court that he had consumed alcohol on the day of the incident,” said Mamothame.
The murder and kidnapping charges were dropped and converted to culpable homicide.
Prosecutor advocate Riekie Krause disputed Legodi’s version of events and argued he could have reported the incident to law enforcement.
Judge Andre Pietersen lamented the incident’s psychological impact on the child’s family.
Provincial Director of Public Prosecutions Dr Rachel Makhari Sekhaolelo commended the police for securing justice for the child’s family, saying the sentence “signifies the need for parents to be the first line of protection for their children” and highlighted the importance of reporting cases to authorities.
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