Ex-cop gets death penalty for wife's murder
Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday June 28, 2022 03:45
Justice Bengbame Sechele condemned Legae, 41, to death for brutally killing Olerato Legae, a meteorological services worker in Letlhakane, on July 13, 2016.
Before passing the ultimate penalty, Justice Sechele said there were no exceptional extenuating circumstances that could have saved Legae from the gallows.
Sechele explained that though he appreciated that Legae was suffering from mild depression before he committed the offence, he was, however, certified fit to stand trial.
Psychiatrist, Dr Paul Sidandi had testified that after he examined Legae following the murder charge levelled against him, he (Sidandi) concluded that although Legae was suffering from mild depression at the time he allegedly committed the offence, he was fit to stand trial.
Therefore, Sechele continued, Legae was able to understand his actions and their consequences thereof because he was able to drive hundreds of kilometres from Kasane, where he was staying, to Letlhakane before he executed his heinous plan.
“You shall therefore be hanged by the neck until you die,” said Sechele to a disoriented Legae who was then whisked out of court under heavy police escort and hordes of prison officials.
When passing judgement recently, Sechele said that the State has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Legae murdered Olerato.
Sechele said since Legae had initially admitted to murdering Olerato, which plea he later changed, it still raised the question of whether he was the perpetrator of the offence or not.
“I do not doubt that the deceased died on the evening of July 13, 2016. This is very much clear from the evidence of her friend who went to her place but found the house unlit. It is highly unlikely that the deceased could have interacted with any other person other than the accused. The fact that the accused left Letlhakane the very evening of his arrival speaks volumes. A husband who has been away from his wife for some time would have been expected to spend the night. I am of the view, therefore, that his visit was abruptly terminated on account of murdering his wife,” Sechele said.
When Olerato was found dead, Legae was working as a laboratory technician in Kazungula during the construction of the Kazungula Bridge.
The fact that he, thereafter, disappeared without a trace speaks volumes of a man who was not only in flight but was also hell-bent on concealing his whereabouts from the law.
“When the accused was arrested, he was wearing a pair of jeans which had some stains suspected to be blood. A DNA test conducted on the pair of jeans worn by the accused had the deceased’s blood stains. How then did such stains land on the accused’s pair of jeans? The accused had tried to distance himself from his pair of jeans. He claimed to have been wearing a slim-fit pair of jeans. The defence’s alibi raised by the accused herein bore the hallmarks of an afterthought. It was sprung on the prosecution at the last moment and could not, therefore, be investigated. I reject it,” said Sechele.
In conclusion, Sechele said: “I take the view that the state has proved the charge of murder against the accused beyond all reasonable doubt and he is consequently convicted of murder.”