A man who stabbed and killed his own brother following an argument, during a family gathering where they had leisure time at a farmhouse in Vaalbank outside Bethal, to spend a decade behind bars.
Johannes Tau Phala, 40, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Bethal Magistrate's Court for murder.
The accused was sentenced after being found guilty of his brother's murder.
The court heard how Johannes stabbed his brother Joseph multiple times during a family gathering where they had leisure time at a farmhouse in Vaalbank outside Bethal. This was in the early hours of Saturday, August 28 2021 at about 3 am.
"The two had an argument resulting in a physical quarrel which led to Joseph's murder committed by his own brother," police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said.
"The accused was arrested shortly after the incident at his hiding place in Embalenhle outside Secunda on Sunday, August 29 2021," Mohlala said.
Mohlala added that Johannes was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and declared unfit to possess a firearm on Tuesday, July 4 2023.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, has expressed concern about domestic violence where members of the same family turn against each other.
IOL