The Pretoria High Court on Tuesday sentenced a 23-year-old for orchestrating a cold-blooded family massacre in Mmakau, north-west of Pretoria.

The woman was sentenced along with her two mercenary cousins (25) to life in prison for four counts of murder.

According to the Press Code and South African law, perpetrators of a crime may not be identified in the media if they were minors when they committed a crime, except if they give consent to be identified.

The woman was only 15 years old in 2016 when she orchestrated a plot to wipe out her entire family and hired her two cousins to carry out the hit.

She murdered her father, a police constable; her mother, a nurse; her 19-year-old pregnant sister and her six-year-old brother at their home in Mmakau in December 2016.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said two men, both 25-years-old, were sentenced to four life terms each for the murders and 15 years each for robbery with aggravating circumstances. They were also charged with five years each for theft, five years each for possession of a firearm, and an additional five years each for possession of ammunition.

Mahanjana said the woman, who is now 23, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for each of the murders.

She added that the offender was also sentenced to 10 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, five years for theft, five years for possession of a firearm, and another five years for possession of ammunition.

“The 23-year-old was sentenced in accordance with the Child Justice Act [75 of 2008], Sections 69 and 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act [51 of 1977],” Mahanjana said.

She said the judge ordered that the offender’s sentence be backdated to her arrest on December 16, 2021.

“Additionally, the Judge ruled that all sentences for the three individuals would run concurrently, and they were declared unfit to possess a firearm. An order for the search and seizure of their premises was also granted.”

Mahanjana said on December, 6, 2016, both of the men collected the father’s firearm during the day.

“That evening, the offender pretended to dispose of water, but in reality, she opened the gate for her accomplices and handed one of the men her father’s car keys.”

Mahanjana added that the men then entered the house and fatally shot the father, mother, teenager and boy.

She said the offender paid them R100 000 for the murders.

“The two men fled the scene in the father’s car but abandoned it shortly afterwards when it got stuck in the mud.”

Mahanjana said on December 16, 2021, the offender turned herself in to the police and confessed to the crime, leading to the men’s arrests on December 18, 2021.

“Both men also made confessions to the police, detailing their roles in the murders. However, during the trial, all three pleaded not guilty and disputed the confessions. After a trial-within-a-trial, the judge ruled the confessions admissible.”

Prosecutor Advocate Eric Sihlangu led evidence proving that the offender had arranged the murder of her family, paying the two men R50 000 each for the crime.

“Fingerprints were also found in the stolen vehicle, further implicating one of the men,” Mahanjana said.

She said during sentencing, the men asked for leniency, citing their age (18 at the time of the offences) and lack of previous criminal activity.

“However, Sihlangu asked the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentences, arguing that the seriousness of the crimes, coupled with a lack of remorse, warranted no lesser punishment.”

Judge Mashudu Mudzhelele concurred, noting that despite their young age, the accused had committed heinous acts and posed a significant threat to society.

She emphasised that their lack of remorse indicated a failure to take responsibility for their actions, and therefore, the sentences handed down were appropriate.

Mahanjana said the NPA welcomes the sentencing.