Three suspects found guilty in Sam Mbatha murder trial

Three suspects have been found guilty for the murder of Sam Mbatha (24), a former North-West University (NWU) digital marketer and LGBTQI+ activist.

Mbatha was brutally murdered nearly three years ago. His body was found inside a burnt Hyundai i20 vehicle, at a soccer field in Ikageng on 17 June 2021.

The High Court of South Africa, North West Division, sitting at the Ga-Rankuwa Regional Court, found Arthur Khoza (19), Mahlatsi Nkuna (21), and Thato Mosetla (22), guilty in all charges relating to the death of Mbatha on Monday, 25 March.

The matter was postponed to 25 July 2024, for sentencing.

The three were facing charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, murder, malicious damage to property and defeating the ends of justice.

Henry Mamothame, NW National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, stated that the state, through Adv Nangamso Goloda, closed its case after leading evidence through five witnesses, who testified on incidents leading to Mbatha’s death. Judge Frances Reid found the three guilty on all charges against them.

“The three were arrested following an intensive investigation by the police, linking them to the murder of Mbatha. Police investigations led them to a house in the Phutha section near Klipgat on Monday, 21 June 2021, where they found bloodstains on the floor, under and on top of a bed, as well as on a carpet. Furthermore, an axe suspected to have been used during the commission of this crime was found on top of the roof of the house,” stated Mamothame.

DNA samples positively identified Mbatha as the deceased. Mosetla was denied bail on 7 July 2022, after he initially abandoned it, after his arrest. Meanwhile, Khoza and Nkuna were out on R500 bail each.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari, welcomed the judgement and expressed hope for a suitable sentence to be imposed against the trio when the matter appears in court in July.