“We cannot believe he did this”: Matatiele community shocked by toddler's death

A Grade 11 learner at Mothibisi High School in Matatiele, who is accused of brutally killing a three-year-old boy at Thabachicha, has been described by community members as a humble and disciplined individual. Many residents say they are struggling to believe that someone they knew as a well-behaved young person could be linked to such a horrific incident.
The learner, 17-year-old Tshepang Mothibisi, was arrested by Avondale police after allegedly showing community members where he had hidden the body of three-year-old Lehakoe Makau.
Mothibisi made his first court appearance on Thursday and is expected to return to court on 2 November, when he is expected to apply for bail.
According to the deceased child’s aunt, Madikalo Makau, the incident came to light on Monday this week after Lehakoe could not be found throughout the day.
“We thought Lehakoe had gone to look after the cattle with his grandfather, something that used to happen on a number of occasions. We started getting worried in the afternoon, thinking that he might be hungry. We phoned his grandfather, but to our surprise, he told us that the child had not gone with him. We started panicking and began looking for him,” said Makau.
She said that while they were searching for the child, they encountered Mothibisi, who allegedly confessed to killing him. According to Makau, the learner then took them to the place where the body had been hidden.
The body was reportedly found inside a bag in a nearby forest.
Makau further alleged that some body parts, including the throat and intestines, were missing.
She said that knowing Mothibisi personally had made it difficult for them to believe that he could be responsible for such an act. She added that even learners at the school knew him as a humble and well-behaved individual.
Teachers at Mothibisi High School reportedly shared similar sentiments. However, some teachers revealed that although he was generally regarded as disciplined, he allegedly smoked dagga and had a poor school attendance record.
One teacher said his absenteeism had become a serious concern, to the extent that the school principal had been trying to locate his parents to discuss his failure to attend classes regularly.
Makau described the situation in the village as tense, saying residents were still struggling to come to terms with the incident. She said it was the first incident of its kind in the community, leaving many residents shocked and traumatised.

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