Cape Town – The man alleged to be the mastermind behind the murder of a Groot Brak River couple in 2016 has pleaded not guilty in the High Court sitting in Mossel Bay.
Stephen Lekoro, 29, a former employee of murdered Mattheus “Tewie” Human, 72, was arrested in Bloemfontein in September last year.
Human was hit with a panga several times and his 62-year-old wife, Eurika, was stabbed with a knife in the chest and neck.
In 2017, Tamsamqa Sishuba, who was said to be a friend of Lekoro, was found guilty of the murders, and is serving two life sentences.
Lekoro has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. According to the State Mattheus Human had rendered a service at the local sewerage plant and Lekoro worked for him as a labourer.
“On June 15, 2016 the accused and Sishuba travelled from Groot Brakrivier to Mossel Bay, where the accused bought a bus ticket and departed for Bloemfontein and from there entered Lesotho,” the State said.
“The accused placed Sishuba in charge of his house and gave him the keys.”
On June 18, 2016, the Humans’ bodies were discovered at their home.
“Post mortems revealed that Mr Human died of chop wounds to the head and Mrs Human as a result of stab wounds to the neck and chest.
“Various items were missing from the house and an amount of R14000 was electronically transferred from an account of the deceased on June 14, 2016 to an FNB account in Lesotho.”
According to the State, the police visited Lekoro’s residence where they found Sishuba, and while searching the house found various items belonging to the Humans.
Information was received that the accused was in Lesotho, and an application lodged for his arrest and extradition to South Africa.
Lekoro, however, crossed the border and was arrested in Bloemfontein.
The Humans’ son-in-law, Gerhard Pietersen, said: “As a family, we now have to relive this trauma, especially as more details have come out this time around. We have to give credit to the investigating officers for ensuring they tracked the suspect down.”
The trial continues.