Relatives worried ‘black widow’ could grab money
RELATIVES of a man who was allegedly killed by his wife and her boyfriend are worried the woman will use his money if released on bail while they have none to bury him.
The body of Selaelo Lekalakala, 61, of Bosplaas near Hammanskraal was discovered buried in a shallow grave in a bushy area on January 26. He had been killed on December 30.
Lekalakala’s family claimed that when Fikile Mongwe handed herself to the police last month for the murder, she was in possession of Lekalakala’s ID, bank cards and other personal documents.
Mongwe, 36, and her alleged lover Innocent John Pilusa, 21, have been in custody since their arrest last month. Yesterday, they made their second appearance at the Moretele Magistrate’s Court in Hammanskraal where their bail application was postponed to March 6 for further investigation.
Prosecutor Elliot Matjope told magistrate Mariah Maithufi that his office had indicated the matter could be heard in the high court in Pretoria.
The accused looked calm and never said a word to each other while on the stand. The gallery looked deflated after the magistrate made the announcement of the postponement.
Lekalakala’s family said they were disappointed with the postponement and wished that the pair
would not get bail.
The man was yet to be buried as his family scrambled for funds.
Deborah Kgosana, a relative, said Mongwe had kept all Lekalakala’s documents. The deceased did not have children.
“This woman took his ID and bank cards. We spoke to the police officers and they promised that these documents will be brought back to us.
“We are worried. We cannot bury him because we can’t access his monies. Once Fikile [Mongwe] gets bail she will take all his monies,” Kgosana alleged.
According to information Sowetan gathered from Lekalakala’s neighbours last month, the deceased had married Mongwe last year after she had worked for him as a housekeeper since 2014 when his first wife died.
Mongwe then introduced Pilusa to the deceased as her nephew. Pilusa lived with the couple until Lekalakala’s disappearance was noticed early in the new year.
It was also alleged the two were actually lovers and had cooked up the idea to kill the deceased after they learnt that he was retiring this year. He worked as a government employee.
They were arrested after Pilusa’s friend confessed to the police that he helped the couple to dispose of the body.
Kgosana said they knew very little about Mongwe except that she was from Giyani in Limpopo.
“We can’t bury him as we can’t access his monies