The Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court has sentenced 40-year-old Dineo Cambrige Baloyi of Soshanguve to life imprisonment for the murder of his younger brother, Lethabo (27), in a chilling case driven by greed and jealousy over an inheritance.

He was further sentenced to an additional five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder and was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The brothers shared the same mother, who was employed by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and frequently deployed outside the country.

At the time of the murder, the murdered man was also an SANDF member and lived at the SANDF barracks, while the convicted lived with their mother at her home in Soshanguve.

According to court proceedings, during one of his mother’s deployments, Baloyi accessed her bedroom and discovered her last will and testament.

Upon learning that he was not a beneficiary and that his younger brother stood to inherit, he became enraged.

He shared the information with his girlfriend, and the pair devised a plan to kill the deceased.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, on May 30, 2018, they invited Lethabo to their mother’s home under the guise of socialising.

During the visit, they secretly laced his drink with poison. When he lost consciousness, they strangled him to death.

She said in an attempt to conceal the crime, the accused and his girlfriend placed the deceased’s body in his vehicle and deliberately crashed it along the R80 Mabopane Highway to stage the murder as a motor vehicle accident.

Following the incident, the girlfriend fled to Thembisa and has not yet been traced by police.

Baloyi escaped to Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga, where he was later arrested on an unrelated kidnapping charge involving another partner and her child.

Mahanjana said that while in custody, Baloyi fell ill and was hospitalised in September 2024.

“During his hospital stay, he contacted his uncle and confessed to killing his brother, requesting that the investigating officer be informed.

“The investigating officer travelled to Mpumalanga, where Baloyi made a formal confession before a magistrate. He was subsequently arrested for the murder on September 9, 2024,” said Mahanjana.

In court, Baloyi pleaded guilty and asked for leniency, citing his children as dependents.

However, Regional Prosecutor Lufuno Manena opposed any deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence, arguing that the murder was premeditated and motivated by greed.

In sentencing, Magistrate Nel agreed with the State, noting Baloyi’s complete disregard for human life and stating that his actions posed a clear danger to society.

ALSO READ: Police launch manhunt after Atteridgeville shooting kills five

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok or WhatsApp Channel