A 32-year-old South African man, Collen Rorisang Mogotsi has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the brutal m8rder of his five-month-old 'son' after his girlfriend and the child's mother revealed he was not the biological father.
The Lehurutshe Regional Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, with the judge not only condemning Mogotsi's actions but also declaring him unfit to ever possess a firearm under the stringent Firearm Control Act of 2000.
The incident occurred in the early hours of November 8, 2017. Police responded to a report from Willowpark, Lehurutshe, where the infant's lifeless body was discovered. The baby had sustained head and other injuries.
"He was declared dead by Emergency and Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) on the scene," said Colonel Adéle Myburgh, police spokesperson.
It was reported that the baby's mother and her boyfriend, Mogotsi, had a disagreement earlier that night in Dinokana village, outside Zeerust
During the confrontation, the mother told Mogotsi that the infant was not his biological child. Mogotsi, who was reportedly drunk at the time, responded violently by assaulting the infant.
"Mogotsi then told the mother that the baby is dead and must be taken back to her parental home in Willowpark.
Police arrested the father shortly after the incident was reported and he appeared in court on Wednesday, November 13, 2017," Myburgh said.
The case was brought to justice through the persistent efforts of the investigative officer, Sergeant Thabo Tshweu of Lehurutshe Detectives, and the prosecutor, Neo Sedumedi
Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, the provincial police commissioner, and Rachel Makhari, North West director of public prosecutions, complimented the teamwork that resulted in the conviction.
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