Pretoria - A Mpumalanga man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his 83-year-old relative over R36 before setting her house on fire while she was inside it.
Nick Mpolokeng Kolokoto, 35, killed Elizabeth Kolokoto in 2012 after breaking into her house in Phake Village, Mmametlhake, in an attempt to steal from her.
According to provincial police spokesperson Selvy Mohlala, Nick Kolokoto was on his way back from a local tavern when he planned to rob his elderly relative, who was living alone in the same street as him.
He tried to recruit his friends to assist him in the commission of the crime, but was unsuccessful and decided to carry out the plan by himself.
“The accused went straight to the granny's house. He gained entrance to the yard by jumping the fence, broke her bedroom window, and then entered the house. He found the granny already awake and demanded money from her.
“When the granny indicated that she had no money, the accused assaulted her and banged her against the wall until she fell down. He ransacked the house, only to come out with R36,” said Mohlala.
Before leaving, he set paper alight and threw it under the bed, which led to the house burning to the ground with the elderly woman inside it.
He went home, changed his clothes, and then set them on fire before going to bed.
“The following morning he realised that his running shoes had bloodstains (on them), (so) he also threw them in the pit toilet to conceal the evidence.”
Mohlala said only a human skull was found after the house had been burned to the ground.
“Dedicated police investigators put all their efforts into ensuring they found the one responsible for this atrocious incident. Investigations led them to the accused, who later admitted that his bloodstained running shoes had been thrown inside the pit toilet.”
In court, Kolokoto admitted to having been responsible for murder, robbery and arson.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, six years for arson, and five years for housebreaking and theft.
IOL