Pretoria – The Rustenburg Regional Court has sentenced 48-year-old George Motsamai Ntlheng to life imprisonment for the murders of his estranged wife, Boitumelo Daphney Molabatsi, 36, and her friend Emelda Matsho, 38.
He was handed an additional 15-year sentence for Matsho’s murder.
Rustenburg police spokesperson Sergeant Ofentse Mokgadi said the women were murdered in Sunrise Park in 2019.
“The court heard that on that fateful day Monday, March 4, 2019, Ntlheng followed his estranged wife, who was unaware of him following her, to a friend’s house.
“While the wife was inside the house waiting for her friend, Ntlheng attacked her with a knife,” said Mokgadi.
He stabbed her multiple times, leading to her death.
“He then proceeded to the house of his estranged wife's alleged boyfriend. The man managed to escape, but he subsequently killed Matsho, who was a friend to the wife and happened to be at the vicinity at the time.
“Both victims were brutally stabbed to death with a knife by Ntlheng,” said Mokgadi.
Police at Boitekong were notified of the double murder and Ntlheng was traced and arrested on the same night.
Mokgadi said Warrant Officer Richard Mfaladi of Boitekong detectives was assigned as the investigating officer and he successfully opposed bail in court numerous times.
Meanwhile, the Bojanala sub-district 2, acting district commander, Brigadier Regina Ntoagae has welcomed the sentencing.
Ntoagae commended Mfaladi and Constable Patrick Sebalane “for their sterling detective work”.
Meanwhile, a 31-year-old man based in Mamelodi East abandoned his bail application before the Mamelodi Magistrate’s Court where he is facing a charge of attempting to murder an eight-year-old girl.
North Gauteng regional spokesperson for the director of public prosecutions, Lumka Mahanjana, said the man and the mother of the minor girl were in a relationship.
“It is alleged that on April 24, 2022, the couple had gone to a funeral, where an argument broke out between them. The following day, while the mother of the minor had gone to a nearby car wash, the accused went to a house where she stayed, to try to work things out,” Mahanjana said.
When he arrived, he allegedly found the minor with her grandmother.
“It is alleged that the accused used a butcher knife he found in the kitchen. The mother of the victim heard the screams of her mother and quickly rushed home, then took her injured child and rushed her to a nearby hospital,” said Mahanjana.
“The child survived the incident, and is now back from the hospital and recovering at home,” she said.
IOL