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.
