Nelspruit: 10 July 2023 - Johannes Tau Phala (40), a Lesotho National was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Bethal Magistrate's Court for murder. The accused was sentenced after being found guilty for his brother's murder. The court heard how Johannes stabbed his brother Joseph Phala multiple times during a family gathering where they had leisure time at a farmhouse in Vaalbank outside Bethal in the early hours of Saturday, 28 August 2021 at about 03h00 am.
The two had an argument resulting in a physical squabble which led to Joseph's murder committed by his own brother. The accused was arrested shortly after the incident at his hiding place in Embalenhle outside Secunda on Sunday, 29 August 2021.
Johannes was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and was further declared unfit to possess a firearm on Tuesday, 04 July 2023.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has raised her concern about domestic related violence whereby members of the same family turn against each other.