Life in jail for mother killer

A Mamelodi man who stabbed his elderly mother to death and chopped up her body, claiming voices in his head made him do it, has been declared a dangerous criminal and sentenced to indefinite imprisonment.

Yesterday, Judge Cassim Sardiwalla sentenced Kitiji John Mathe, 40, to indefinite imprisonment for the gruesome April 2017 murder of his mother, Makanana, 73, at their home in Mamelodi East.

He ordered that Mathe must be brought before court again after 25 years for a redetermination of his sentence.

Mathe stabbed his mother in the neck and then mutilated her body. He decapitated her, removed her internal organs, genitalia, severed both rib cages from the sternum and removed her wrists, ankles and right hand. He placed her body on her bed and her entrails in a bucket.

“This is not human behaviour. It’s not even animal behaviour,” the judge said.

Mathe claimed he had a good relationship with his mother, but was stressed by the voices in his head, which were the after-effect of drinking rat poison in an attempt to kill himself.

A panel of experts found that he was not suffering from any mental illness.

His sister and cousin found his mother’s mutilated body after becoming suspicious when she did not answer their calls and breaking open her bedroom door.

His sister, Rosina, although clearly still traumatised, testified that she had forgiven her brother.

His cousin testified that Mathe and his mother had arguments and that she’d seen bruises on her aunt.

She added that her aunt had complained that her son was assaulting her, but would not lay charges because she loved him.

Sardiwalla said Mathe had clearly planned the murder and knew exactly what he was doing.

“The accused attacked an elderly, vulnerable, unsuspecting woman who was his own mother. How much worse a crime can you find?

“What is concerning is that he does not take full responsibility for his actions.

“This is an indication that he did not appreciate the gravity of his actions.”

He said gruesome family murders, in which women were invariably the victims, had become endemic in South Africa and should not be treated lightly.

The accused attacked an elderly, vulnerable, unsuspecting woman who was his own mother. How much worse a crime can you find? Judge Sardiwalla