Pretoria - The North West woman accused of hiring two hitmen, when she was only 16, to kill her policeman dad, mom, pregnant sister, and younger brother, was granted bail on Wednesday, along with her co-accused.
“Three accused, Tumelo Mokone, 23, Kagiso Mokone, 23, and Onthantile Sebati, 20, were granted bail of R10 000 each, by the Brits Magistrate’s Court earlier on Januray 26,” said Lumka Mahanjana, National Prosecution Authority (NPA) North Gauteng regional spokesperson for the director of public prosecutions in Pretoria.
Earlier, the report for Sebati’s psychiatric assessment was handed over in court, and the assessment revealed that she was fit to stand trial.
The trio are facing four counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, and theft.
Onthatile, then aged 16, allegedly hired hitmen to kill her parents and siblings in Mmakau, east of Brits, five years ago. Her father Constable Sello Sebati was attached to the Hebron Police Station.
Police found the bodies of Onthatile Sebati’s father Constable Sello Sebati, her mother Mmatshepo, her sister Tshegofatso who was seven-months pregnant, and her young brother Quinton lying in a pool of blood on December 2016.
During the bail proceedings, the State put it on record that it had evidence of bank statements showing that R100 000 was transferred from Sebati’s bank account to one of the Mokone’s.
Fingerprints of Mokone were also found on the car Sebati’s father owned, which they allegedly used as a getaway vehicle after the killings.
The investigating officer testified in court that the three accused submitted corroborating confession statements, stating the role they each played the night Sebati’s family was killed.
The State opposed bail, saying the crimes the accused faced were serious schedule 6 offences and, should they be found guilty, they are likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Also, the State put on record that the accused persons were a danger to themselves, especially considering the nature of the offences.
However, the magistrate granted them bail of R10 000 each, with conditions that they report to their closest police station every Monday and Friday, in the morning and evening.
“They should not move from their addresses. Should they decide to leave, they should inform the investigating officer of where they are going and the duration of their stay,” said Mahanjana, when explaining the bail conditions.
“Lastly, they should not contact each other directly or indirectly,” added Mahanjana.
The matter was postponed to March 30, 2022, for further investigations.
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