Shock As Brother Kills Brother Over P60
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday December 7, 2021 06:00
Disbelief enveloped residents of Seletlo ward in the village after the infamous 16-year-old Onkabetse Kgopolo fatally stabbed his older brother, Moalafi Kgopolo, 17, with a knife last Tuesday.
Death brings everything to a halt but sudden death resulting from murder creates much overwhelming grief for survivors and this is the condition The Monitor crew found the Mareko family in.
Last Tuesday evening, Onkabetse allegedly stabbed his older brother Moalafi to death with a knife over a P60 debt. On Friday The Monitor visited the grieving family and found the siblings’ guardian, a 73-year-old grandmother amongst the mourners under a tree. Confusion and sorrow were written all over the granny’s face.
She readily acquiesced to narrating Tuesday evening’s devastating events.
Asked what transpired, the duo’s grandmother, Gotshegameno Mareko said the family was still in shock and very much confused about the sibling’s murder.
“The siblings had gone out late that afternoon and upon returning home that evening the deceased asked his younger brother to give him his P60 and he refused. I asked the deceased to let it go, but he said he wanted his money because he wanted to use it as transport fare to the lands,” she narrated. “That is when the younger brother replied saying ‘Ga kena madi o raya gore ke a tseye kae’ and they followed each other inside the house. I just took the argument lightly because they were so close and hardly ever fought even in childhood.”
She stated that whilst sitting in front of the family’s one-roomed house she suddenly saw Onkabetse running outside the yard and a few minutes later Moalafi came outside the house screaming “O ntlhabile (He stabbed me). Mma Leungo ke sule! (Mma Leungo I’m dead!) abo a wela faatshe ebo e nna gone gotlhe” (he fell down and that was it).
“These children were so close I do not know what got in between them, but that fateful evening Onkabetse had turned into an animal because even when his older brother was lying down lifeless he came back furious asking if he was dead. “A few minutes later he came back fuming, holding the knife asking, ‘Kare, a o sule? Kare, a o sule? (I said, is he dead? I said, is he dead?)’. Neighbours tried to intervene and he threatened to stab them too that is when they all ran off for their lives. I was left here alone and stranded beside my other grandson’s lifeless body,” the pained grandmother said.
Mareko said she is struggling to come to terms with the siblings’ fight over a P60 debt that left the other dead. Asked about Onkabetse’s behaviour, the grandmother described him as a difficult child who dropped out of school and has been abusing alcohol and marijuana.
Mourners, a majority of them being neighbours, interjected describing Onkabetse as a feared child in the area who spends most of his time abusing alcohol and dagga.
“Ngwana yole ke seganka. Ke mo tshaba moo, ke monna le go romega ga a romege. This old woman is not safe with him. Even during his schooling days at Tshegetsang Secondary School, he was a troublesome learner who was stealing at school and abusing other learners. His behaviour ended up forcing the school management to expel him from school,” said one neighbour.
Mareko shared her sentiments with her neighbours, saying she was not ready to live with Onkabetse if he is granted bail. She further described the deceased as a focused well-behaved boy, who was determined to complete his studies.
“Moalafi was a nice boy, who did not even take alcohol. I have lost my future breadwinner,” Mareko said.
Moalafi’s post-mortem was conducted on Friday while the family was still busy with burial preparations.