In a gripping conclusion to a decade-old case, the High Court, presided over by Justice Tšeliso Mokoko, found Motloheloa Seitlheko guilty of murdering his younger brother, Mokoena Seitlheko.
The verdict, delivered this week, ended with a ten-year prison sentence for the accused, who maintained throughout the trial that he acted in self-defence during a violent confrontation on January 15, 2015, in Thotapeli, Berea district.
The prosecution, led by Advocate Thaaba, painted a chilling picture of fratricide, while Advocate Pelele Ntori, representing Seitlheko, argued his client feared for his life.
The courtroom drama unfolded with raw testimony from the family matriarch and a stark admission from the accused himself.
The state’s first witness, ‘Mamontšeng Seitlheko, mother to both the accused and the deceased, taking the stand, recounted the fateful morning when police arrived at her cousin’s home between 10 and 11 a.m., asking about the people she lived with.
She told them that she lived with her sons, Motloheloa and Mokoena, only to be stunned by their revelation that Motloheloa was at the station, claiming he had killed his brother.
Refusing to believe it, she returned home with the police. What she found shattered her: Mokoena lay on a bed, half-naked, barely responsive.
“No Mama,” he murmured as she touched him, his body marked by two head wounds, facial scratches, elbow abrasions, and bruises. Though gravely injured, he was alive. She begged the police to rush him to a hospital, but despite medical efforts, a nurse soon confirmed his death.
She recalled seeing Motloheloa at the police station later that day. Under cross-examination, she admitted the brothers had a troubled past, with Motloheloa often complaining of Mokoena’s disrespect – a simmering tension that would soon explode into tragedy.
Motloheloa took the stand, offering his version of events. He claimed he was making bricks when Mokoena confronted him, accusing him of snitching to the police. The argument escalated, with Mokoena allegedly issuing threats before storming into the house.
Fearing for his life, Motloheloa grabbed a steel pipe and followed.
Inside, as Mokoena neared a wardrobe, Motloheloa said he struck him repeatedly, fearing his brother was reaching for a weapon. “I did not mean to kill him,” he insisted, describing how Mokoena collapsed onto the bed. Afterward, he turned himself in to the police.
Justice Mokoko pressed him: How did he know Mokoena intended to arm himself? Motloheloa pointed to his brother’s alleged history of violence, claiming it fueled his belief that he was in imminent danger.
This case emerges against a backdrop of persistent crime in Lesotho, as detailed in the Bureau of Statistics’ 2023 report on 2022 data (latest available).
Of the 11,939 serious crimes reported that year, murder accounted for 7.9 percent (944 cases), ranking it among the nation’s pressing issues. Housebreaking dominated at 36.9 percent (4,410 cases), followed by stock theft (18.3 percent, 2,180 cases) and sexual offenses (11.6 percent, 1,383 cases).
Assault causing grievous bodily harm, at 7.2 percent (863 cases), and robbery, at 5.8 percent (689 cases), also reflect a society grappling with violence. Human trafficking, though rare at 0.2 percent (19 cases), rounds out the grim tally.
The Seitlheko brothers’ tragedy mirrors broader patterns: interpersonal disputes escalating to deadly outcomes, often in rural districts like Berea, where economic hardship and limited resources fuel tensions.
Relebohile Makhetha is a court and crime reporter based in Maseru. She has been working at Newsday since 2024. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Communication from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (2024) and a Diploma in Mass Communication from the National University of Lesotho (Institute of Extra-Mural Studies, 2018).
