Kaya 959 News
North West siblings, Gopolang and Moleko Maoka, will spend the rest of their lives behind bars for the murder of their uncle.
North West NPA spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, said the brothers murdered 64-year-old Segwagwa Modiegi in 2017, just weeks after taking out life insurance for him.
Mamothame said the brothers lived in Kathu in Kuruman and hatched a plan to murder their uncle and claim from insurance.
“Investigations revealed that the two were renting from the deceased and upon retirement, he moved to a village known as Seoding where they all originate from and left his premises under their care,” he said.
The brothers were responsible for collecting rental money from other tenants to send it to the deceased.
“When they realised how much money they were collecting for their uncle, they wanted to take over and he was an obstacle,” Mamothame said.
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Lured uncle to cousin’s house
In January 2017, they called a family meeting at a relative’s home in Seoding.
The brothers travelled to Seoding where they arranged to meet at a cousin’s home.
“As planned, they called the deceased person to meet with him at their cousin’s house where the family meetings are usually held. They then waited for him in the bushes where he was supposed to pass through and they gruesomely murdered him by bashing his head with a huge stone and robbed him of his two cellphone,” Mamothame said.
Modiegi’s body was found the next day.
“Evidence led in court by the investigating officer revealed that a few months prior to executing the murder, the accused insured the deceased person with Nedbank as well as Assupol with an intention of cashing up on the two policies after murdering him,” Mamothame said.
Suspect makes shocking confession
Modiegi’s family asked police to inform them if anyone requested his death certificate.
“Following this instruction, investigations led to the arrest of Moleko Maoka on 17 January 2017 whilst making enquiries about the death certificate of the deceased with the intention of claiming from the insurance companies,” Mamothame said.
Moleko revealed his reasons for wanting the death certificate and confessed to police about the plot to kill Modiegi.
“Police travelled to Kathu where they found a pair of blood-soaked shoes. Forensic results positively matched the bloodstains to that of the deceased,” Mamothame said.
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Motivated by greed
The two were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years for robbery.
They were however acquitted on the two charges of fraud. In meting out the sentence, Judge Gura emphasized that in killing the deceased their conduct was motivated by greed and as such an innocent life was lost.
In mitigating for the maximum sentence, Advocate Cain Nontenjwa argued that this dreadful murder was premeditated and driven by greed, therefore warranted a maximum prison term, to which the judge agreed.
Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Advocate Rachel Makhari-Sekhaolelo has welcomed the conviction.
She commended Advocate Nontenjwa for a successful prosecution that will ensure that criminal elements are removed from society and for bringing justice to the family of the deceased.
