Mental illness saves man from gallows

He allegedly hacked Gofiwa with an axe several times on the body and head. When Onkgoptse appeared for extenuation, the prosecution called a psychiatrist, Dr Paul Sidandi, to give evidence on whether he was fit to have taken the plea. Dr Sidandi said he first examined Onkgopotse on July 3, 2014 when the then 14-year-old minor was brought to Jubilee Psychiatric Hospital in relation to a case of bestiality. According to Sidandi, Onkgopotse was brought to the mental facility after he was caught having sex with a goat. “After I examined the patient, I came to the conclusion that he was suffering from a condition called manic depressive psychosis and he also had bouts of epilepsy. People who are suffering from this type of mental condition have unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and concentration," said Sidandi.

He added: "On the other hand, epilepsy is a neurological condition involving the brain that makes people more susceptible to having recurrent unprovoked seizures. Yes it can be said that the accused’s mental condition caused him to commit the offence he is currently charged with. A person suffering from manic depressive psychosis is susceptible to mood swings and does not appreciate what they are doing. People suffering from this condition are easily irritable and might act in a violent manner but this is not in the context of insanity. In my opinion, the patient was fit to take plea in this matter.” Under cross-examination from the State counsel Gabarate Zimundu, Sidandi told the court that people who are suffering from manic depressive psychosis have high sex moods which explain why Onkgopotse was caught having sex with a goat. In extenuation, attorney Lesego Phoi for Onkgopotse submitted that it was clear that the accused committed the offence after he was provoked by his sister and her boyfriend, which issue was triggered by his manic depressive psychosis disorder. “On October 13, 2020, the accused had a physical altercation with his sister and her boyfriend. They were basically fighting over a trivial matter. The altercation happened after the accused was sent by his parents to go and inform his sister that nurses will be coming to the local clinic the following day and as such they should remember to take their children to the clinic the following day for medical attention. The accused wanted to take the children to the clinic the following day but his sister told him that she will instead take them to the clinic herself. This did not go down well with the accused and it triggered his mental disorder which then influenced him to act in the way he did,” said Phoi.

The court also heard that Onkgopotse was of rustic background and he only went as far as Form 3 with his education. In mitigation, Phoi said that the accused was 20-years-old when he committed the offence. “This shows that youthful exuberance influenced him to act in the manner in which he did. The accused is also a first offender and he never had any brushes with the law before he committed this offence despite his chequered history. He also pleaded guilty to the offence immediately after the charges were put to him. This is a sign of remorse on his part. He also religiously attended all court sessions. He is the first born in a family of nine children. We plead with the court to tamper justice with mercy because a harsh sentence will not rehabilitate but crush the accused. We pray that the accused should be taken to a mental facility where he should continue taking his medication,” Phoi said. When delivering an ex tempore judgment (on the spur of the moment, without premeditation), Justice Moroka said that the accused murdered his own niece in the cruelest of fashion one can fathom. “In other words, he murdered his own son because it is appropriate for his niece to call him her father.

When trial commenced, the accused readily pleaded guilty to the offence which showed that he took responsibility for his conduct. The murdering of a minor child is a tragedy to the accused’s family and is also a tragedy to the accused for having murdered his own niece. His family will never be the same again consequent to his violent behaviour. The accused’s actions were not premeditated. Given the mental condition of the accused although he was co-existing well with other members of society before he committed this offence, his mood swings should also be taken into consideration before passing sentence,” said Moroka. In conclusion, Moroka said given the gravity of the matter and since the statutory minimum sentence of murder is 15 years when there are extenuating circumstances, the accused is sentenced to jail for 15 years which sentence shall reckon from October 13, 2020 when the accused’s liberty was taken. “It is also ordered that prison officials see to it that the accused takes his prescribed medication without fail in prison,” said Moroka.