Johannesburg - A 42-year-old who ran an office as a bogus industrial psychologist in Sterkspruit has been sentenced to life plus 29 years’ imprisonment for killing his 60-year-old mother in 2018.
The Sterkspruit Regional Court sentenced Nathaniel Molefe Kosie, who had pleaded not guilty, to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years’ jail time for robbery with aggravating circumstances, and seven years behind bars for each of the counts of defeating the administration of justice and fraud.
According to details revealed by NPA Eastern Cape regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, on August 19, 2018, Kosie asked permission from the parents of his receptionist to go with the latter to an after-hours consultation at the nearby Herchel village.
That evening, the two then left the office in Kosie’s car and he drove to a place called Colville, where his mother lived. He then left the receptionist in the car with his second cellphone while he went to his alleged client for a consultation that is said to have taken about two hours.
Kosie then returned driving his mother’s car and instructed the receptionist to drive his car behind him, at all time ensuring no car managed to get between them while they drove at a high speed.
Upon arrival at the accused’s house, he thanked his receptionist. The following day, he went home to his mother’s house, where he claimed to have discovered his mother killed, and her car and TV stolen.
He called the police and made a statement regarding what he claimed to have discovered upon arrival at her house.
Tyali said: “A few days after the incident, the deceased’s car was found abandoned near a bus rank in Sterkspruit town, with a TV set in the boot. Once the receptionist learnt that the deceased was killed and the car robbed, he approached the police telling them the car was never stolen but had been driven there by his boss, Kosie. His fingerprints were found on the TV, which was in the boot of the deceased’s car.”
State Advocate Loyiso Methuso, who led the evidence of 11 witnesses, including his receptionist, said: “The evidence was circumstantial, except on the fraud charge, but the State successfully convinced the court beyond a reasonable doubt that the only inference was that the accused planned to kill his mother and thereafter robbed her of her car and TV set.
“In addition, he lied to the police when he said he had found his mother dead and did not know who the killers were. Kosie also admitted some incriminating facts during cross-examination which led to the court being satisfied that he was guilty of fraud as well.”
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions Barry Madolo has commended the prosecution and investigative team, led by Colonel Nobesutu Dinga, for their work on the case, which led to the appropriate punishment for the crime.
IOL