People often believe that their siblings can be their proxy when it comes to raising their children.
But sometimes even people raised in the same household can have differences of opinion around parenting.
A Pretoria uncle took it to the extreme by sacrificing his one-year-old nephew in a satanic ritual.
The court heard that mother of the deceased and the deceased Nkazimulo Theodore Penga stayed at her parental home in Ekangala with her parents.
On 30 September 2020, a day before Nkazimulo turned a year old, Sipho Vincent Maseko (37), the mother’s brother, visited his parental home where the child was left with the helper because the mother had gone to work.
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“He then sent the helper to the shop to buy airtime. While the helper was out, Sipho strangled the child with a rope, jumped on his chest several times poured boiling water on his face and ran to hide in the bushes.
“When the helper returned from the shop, she found the lifeless body of the child tucked inside the bed covered. After a few hours of hiding Sipho called his family. When he heard the commotion of the community over the phone, he went to the police and handed himself over and has been in custody since,” the court heard.
He pleaded guilty to the charge of premeditated murder, in his guilty plea, he said he killed his nephew as a form of satanic sacrifice to have money, and the day he killed the child he was not himself, the devil took over him.
He also told the court that he had previously tried to kill his nephew two weeks before the incident by smothering him with his hand, but he survived because he cried. However, after the first attempt, the child sustained permanent damage which resulted in him being disabled.
During the sentencing proceedings, prosecuting state advocate Andre Wilsenach read into the record the victim impact statement facilitated by the Court Preparation Officer Lebongang Lebese, where the mother of the child described her brother as a monster and devil himself, and told the court that the incident left her emotionally damaged.
“She went through a phase of consuming alcohol to try a numb the pain which resulted in her miscarrying her pregnancy because of stress, and inability to sleep.”
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The mother who now has a four-month-old baby said she fears for the child that what happened to Nkazimulo can happen again.
In aggravation, Wilsenach told the court that Sipho did not show true remorse, he never apologised to the family for what he did. He sacrificed the child because he wanted fortune and was motivated by greed. Therefore, he asked the court to impose a just sentence of life imprisonment.
Judge Mashudu Munzhelele, agreed with the state that Maseko was motivated by greed, instead of taking responsibility, he shifted the blame to the devil.
“He failed to protect a child, instead the boy suffered at the hands of his own uncle,” the judge said.
Sipho was then sentenced to life imprisonment. The court ordered that he be declared unfit to possess a firearm and that the police should conduct a search and seizure of firearms at his home.
The court further ordered that the mother of the deceased be informed, should Maseko be eligible for parole and make representations.
