NWest family massacre trial on hold
The trial of two men accused of killing three members of a family in Tlhabane has been postponed to allow for one of the accused to be trial ready.
|||Rustenburg - The trial against two men accused of killing three members of a family in Tlhabane near Rustenburg will resume in the North West High Court on Friday.
Nicholas “Molefe” Ntsimane, 38, and Letlhogonolo Mokgofa, 30, appeared briefly in the North West High Court sitting at the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The case was postponed to Friday for Ntsimane to be trial ready. On Tuesday he told the court that he had not been able to access the docket to prepare for trial and asked the court that he should be allowed to have contents of the docket in prison.
He told North West judge president Monica Leeuw that his attorney had previously provided him with the docket, but prison officials were not happy that he had the docket and his attorney returned with it, leaving him with only two statements.
Ntsimane and Mokgofa allegedly petrol bombed a house in Bester, Tlhabane, on May 16 last year, killing Kealeboga Segopa, 30, her eight-month-old daughter Kaboyaona, and her mother Mmapula, 55.
Ntsimane was arrested on May 29, on an armed robbery and hijacking case in which he allegedly robbed an off-duty police officer of his service pistol and drove off with the officer’s car in Tlhabane on December 15, 2014.
Detectives found during questioning that he was allegedly linked to the murder of the Segopa family.
Ntsimane is a close relative to the family. He was found in possession of a firearm and eight rounds of live ammunition.
His co-accused, Mokgofa, was arrested on May 30, in Tlhabane West. He was found in possession of a revolver and three rounds of live ammunition.
The pair face charges ranging from attempted murder, murder, hijacking, armed robbery, arson, malicious damaged to property, contravention of the Explosive Act, possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Ntsimane was remanded and Mokgofa’s bail was extended until Friday.
African News Agency