The high court in Pretoria has sentenced a man from Soshanguve to two life sentences for the murder of his son and the rape of the mother of his children.
The murderer, Mr X, has also been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for attempted murder of his other sons aged eight and 11, and an additional six years for three counts of contravening the Domestic Violence. He also received five years for housebreaking.
Mr X, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, was convicted in September. During trial, the judge noted a discrepancy in his testimony and ruled that the testimonies of his surviving sons were “honest and credible”, proving the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court heard that Mr X was in a relationship with his children’s mother from 2004 until 2018. In 2019, the mother applied for protection order against him, but Mr X broke into her house, assaulted and raped her.
He later fetched the children and took them to his house where he fed them viennas and russians laced with poison.
Lumka Mahanjana, spokesperson for National Prosecuting Authority, said: “It was put on record that the family of Mr X pressured the mother to drop the charges of rape. On August 24 2019, he fetched the two-year-old son from his mother. He proceeded to fetch the [other] two sons aged eight and 11 at their paternal grandmother’s place and took them to his place.
“On their way, he fed them viennas and russians which were laced with poison. When the 11-year-old refused to eat viennas, he assaulted him and forced him to eat.
“Upon arrival at his place, the children fell ill. He then called their mother and told her that he was going to kill the children. The mother arrived and found the lifeless body of the two-year-old on top of his bed. She called the police and took the two children to the hospital,” said Mahanjana.
She added that the man was apprehended on the same day at a railway station, where he had gone to commit suicide. He has been in custody since the incident.
Also read: Father found guilty of murder, attempted murder of his children
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
