Lesotho man jailed for life over Komani farm murders

A 38-year-old Lesotho national has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a Komani court found him guilty of two premeditated, brutal murders on a farm in the Eastern Cape.

Sentence and convictions

Selebalo Mokoena appeared before the Makhanda High Court, sitting as the Komani Circuit Court, where life sentences were imposed on each of the two murder counts. The court also convicted him of entering and remaining in South Africa without valid documentation, and imposed two-year terms for each immigration offence that were ordered to run concurrently with the life sentences.

What the state said

During the trial the court heard that Mokoena and one of the victims, 44-year-old Tsolo Tsonamatsie, were employed as shepherds at Hayden Park Farm, while the other victim, 74-year-old Khwezi Sishuba, was Tsonamatsie’s employer. The State submitted that the murders were planned, brutal and executed with extreme violence.

NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tiyali described motivation and conduct in the matter. He said that, motivated by anger and revenge, Mokoena embarked on a violent course of conduct that culminated in the deaths of both victims.

“On 13 May 2025, Mokoena went to Tsonamatsie’s residence, where he found him intoxicated and asleep. He assaulted him with an axe or similar object, inflicting multiple skull fractures and severe brain injuries. Tsonamatsie died at the scene.”

Tiyali said Mokoena then damaged Sishuba’s vehicle by slashing its tyres and repeatedly threatened to burn down his home. He later attempted to set the residence alight but the fire was extinguished before significant damage occurred.

“On 25 May 2025, he confronted Sishuba, led him to a camp on the farm, and launched a further violent attack, repeatedly stabbing him in the chest and abdomen and inflicting additional injuries. Sishuba succumbed to his injuries at the scene.”

Evidence and court findings

State Advocate Thandiwe Kaleni presented post-mortem reports, crime scene photographs, DNA evidence linking the accused to the second murder, and victim impact statements from the bereaved families. The State argued there were no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment, a submission the court accepted.

Reaction from prosecutors

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, Advocate Samkelo Mtwana, welcomed the sentence. He said the outcome “reinforces the justice system’s firm stance against violent crime” and that it “sends a clear message that those who commit violent crimes in our communities will face the full might of the law.”