Four life sentences for murdering his children

BURGERSFORT – The Ga-Phasha man convicted of killing his four children has been sentenced to four life terms by the Polokwane High Court on Friday June 4.

Former attorney, Lucas Senyatsi Phasha (52) was found guilty of four counts of murder.

Four children, Katlego (9), Joyce (7), Tshepo (5) and Adel (2), who were found dead in two separate locations at Ga-Phasha Selatole on February 17 last year.

Three children were found hacked to death with an axe and had five-inch nails knocked into their heads, and the fourth, the youngest, had her head bludgeoned with a huge stone.

Before the incident, Phasha posted on his Facebook page that his wife was seeing another man and that she would never see her children again.

He also mentioned that one of the children was not fathered by him.
He wrote, “I am very angry at her, her friends and her lovers. She will never see us again and must die. My wife really hurt me.”

He also posted a picture of his wife and wrote, “She is sleeping around with many men.”

The police arrested Phasha the same day after he had confessed to his neighbour that he killed his children.The state prosecutor, Adv Mashudu Mudau, featured all these elements.

Judge Gerrit Cornelius Muller said, “This is a horrific crime. The accused is not a candidate for rehabilitation as he has previous convictions of murder and attempted murder.”

Muller was referring to some of Phasha’s previous crimes; the court had heard that Phasha had previous convictions of murder, three counts of attempted murder and reckless driving.

The court sentenced Phasha to life imprisonment on each count of murder.
The NPA welcomed the sentence, as this would send a strong message to the public that this was a gruesome murder, and that the criminal justice system made sure that justice was served.

Limpopo SAPS spokesperson, Brig Motlafelo Mojapeleo, confirmed the case. “Years ago, Phasha chased his ex-girlfriend with a gun, accusing her of cheating on him, and started shooting at her. The bullet, however, missed his girlfriend and struck a neighbour’s child, who later died.

“He was arrested and charged with murder and was imprisoned,” said Mojapelo.
Phasha served only six years for the murder of the toddler. At the time of his first arrest, Phasha was practising as a lawyer and was struck off the roll as a result of his imprisonment.

He was released on parole in 2008 and completed serving his sentence in 2014.

Sylvia Monyela, the children’s mother, thanked the courts for handing Phasha this punishment.

“This will not bring my kids back, but at least he will spend the rest of his life in prison. It is tough for me, as I cannot forget what transpired on that February day. He hurt me so much when he refused to accept his wrongdoing.”

During the trial, Phasha pleaded not guilty to killing his children. His lawyer, Lawrence Mkhize, said his client did not kill his children, claiming that he was framed.

The Limpopo MEC for social development, Nkakareng Rakgoale, was among those who attended the trial. She welcomed the sentence handed down to the former lawyer.

“It will serve as a deterrent to would-be abusers and murderers of children.” Rakgoale said people of Phasha’s character must be permanently removed from society.