Man burns ex-lover’s home and kills her sibling, 5,

A Gauteng man who set his former lover’s home alight and killed her five-year-old sibling in the process, has been sentenced to life in prison.

Tebogo Daniel Maphopho was sentenced in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Thursday after he was convicted for arson, murder, and attempted murder.

The court also imposed an additional sentence of 40 years.

Maphopho and his then-girlfriend Matsidiso Lebotse’s relationship had ended “acrimoniously”, the State said in court documents.

The State alleged that on the evening of 17 November 2020, he instructed his ex-girlfriend to accompany him to his home.

However, when she refused, he allegedly assaulted her and stabbed her with a knife.

 

Three days later, when Lebotse and her family were sleeping at Plot 61, Vleikop, Randfontein, Maphopho went there, stood outside and shouted that he was there to “fetch” her, claiming that she was his wife.

“Her mother told the accused [Maphopho] to leave them alone and come back the following day. The accused then set fire to the house they were in by pouring an accelerant under the door of the house and setting it alight.”

Lebotse’s mother managed to help the family escape through a window. She remained in the house to save her five-year-old son but could not find him. She then later escaped through the window.

While Lebotse and other family members managed to escape, Neo, who was five years old at the time, died from burn wounds.

Police spokesperson, Sergeant Carmen Hendricks, said the fire department and ambulance were called to the scene and that Neo was trapped under a bed. He had burnt to death, she said

Hendricks said the Maphopho was arrested after an “intense investigation”.