A young woman who brutally murdered teacher Grace Thebogo Sebothoma (Luteke) at her house in Loding Village has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, with the Mpumalanga High Court finding that she influenced a 15-year-old to help carry out the killing.

According to Middelburg Observer, the court sentenced Lerato Brenda Rapeu for the robbery and murder of 64-year-old Sebothoma on September 6, 2023.

Judge Mpopelele Bruce Langa imposed 20 years for murder and 15 years for robbery, with 10 years running concurrently, leaving her with an effective 25-year jail term.

Her teenage co-accused, who was 15 at the time of the murder and cannot be named, was sentenced in August 2024 to 18 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty and testifying for the state.

Langa noted that throughout the trial Rapeu showed no remorse and maintained her innocence even when confronted with overwhelming evidence. He further ruled that the younger girl had been influenced by Rapeu during the planning and execution of the robbery and murder.

Family reacts to sentence

Outside court, Sebothoma’s brother Peter Letuke said the sentence brought some comfort.

“Now we can start to heal,” he told the Middelburg Observer, thanking state prosecutor Adv Derick Rowles and the police for their work on the case. “The sentencing will not bring Grace back, but at least someone has been held accountable.”

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Brutal attack detailed in court

The court heard that Rapeu and the minor carefully planned to rob Sebothoma. When she arrived home, they stabbed her 25 times in the upper body and back, also leaving deep wounds in her thigh and numerous defence injuries.

Two knives broke during the attack. “A third knife was used to finish her off,” said Peter. All the knives were later recovered from an outside pit toilet.

The attackers dragged Sebothoma’s body to a room at the garage, hid it under a wardrobe and used a window to escape. They tried to wipe up the blood using the victim’s clothes before fleeing with her bank cards and vehicle.

Key testimony and failed alibi

During the trial, the younger accused testified that Rapeu initiated the plan to rob Sebothoma and that she followed Rapeu’s instructions during the stabbing.

Another witness, Sebothoma’s neighbour Job Shabangu, testified that he saw both accused entering and leaving her house on the day of the murder. He stated that he knew Rapeu.

Rapeu offered an alibi, claiming she had been playing Ludo in a tavern. The court rejected this after the person she named testified that he never saw her.

A family devoted to education

Sebothoma came from a family devoted to education.

Her father, John, who died when they were young, and mother, Nitalia (89) were both teachers, and her brother Peter spent years as a principal and later a school inspector.

“Why did they have to kill her?” Peter asked outside court. “She gave them everything, even her bank cards and they took her car. Yet they still killed her.”

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