Kabelo Masoabi
A Mokhotlong man has pleaded guilty to culpable homicide for fatally stabbing 27-year-old Thabiso Mosiuoa during a stokvel gathering in November 2021.
Moeling Koti of Ha Chopo admitted causing Mosiuoa’s death during proceedings before the High Court sitting at Tšifa-li-Mali in Leribe. Acting Justice ‘Manapo Motebele convicted him this past week in accordance with his guilty plea and postponed the matter to 24 July 2026 for sentencing.
The court heard that the fatal incident occurred on 27 November 2021 after a dispute over missing change from money intended to buy alcohol.
Mr Mosiuoa had reportedly given M100 to stokvel clerk, Tsietsi Phafoli, to purchase alcohol. When his change was not returned, Mr Phafoli allegedly maintained that he had handed it back but said he could not identify who had taken it because the house was crowded.
State witness, Setotla Kao, testified that she saw Koti snatch the money from Mr Phafoli. When Mr Mosiuoa confronted him, Koti denied taking the money, triggering a heated argument. During the exchange, Koti allegedly warned Mr Mosiuoa against accusing him of theft.
The dispute later spilled outside, where those present were searched in an unsuccessful attempt to recover the missing money. The prosecution said Koti, together with his relatives Tola and Nthoesele, assaulted Mr Mosiuoa before Koti stabbed him once in the chest with a knife.
Setotla told the court that the missing money was later discovered beneath a beer crate near where Koti had been sitting. By then, however, the fight had already erupted. She said she later found Mr Mosiuoa lying motionless on the ground before he stopped breathing.
Another witness, Tlohang Kao, testified that he saw Koti holding a knife during the altercation.
Mautloang Mpeoa, at whose home the stokvel was held, told the court she heard someone refer to Mr Mosiuoa as “Satan” before seeing three people walk away from where he lay.
The court further heard that Koti fled the scene after the stabbing, leaving Tola and Nthoesele as the initial suspects.
Tola Koti testified that the accused later admitted stabbing Mr Mosiuoa, although he claimed he did not know whether the victim had died from the injury.
“I was summoned to report to the chief in the morning, and upon arrival, I found Mosiuoa’s body lying at Mautloang’s residence. The police later arrived and recorded statements from the witnesses,” he told the court.
The following day, Koti voluntarily surrendered himself at Mokhotlong Police Station, where he handed over a brown Okapi knife believed to have been used in the stabbing. He was subsequently charged with murder.
A post-mortem examination conducted by pathologist Dr Makamole Lelimo on 2 December 2021 found that Mr Mosiuoa had sustained a single stab wound to the chest near the heart. Dr Lelimo concluded that he died from haemorrhage caused by severe blood loss.
Mr Mosiuoa, of Mangaung Ha Moremoholo in Mokhotlong, is survived by his wife and two children.