A mistaken identity murder stemming from witchcraft claims has left Ernest Legwale and Hamadi Mkhuha fighting a 40-year imprisonment sentence at the Court of Appeal.
Legwale and Mkhuha were sentenced by the High Court in 2024 for the murder of Thato Meswele on September 10, 2015 in Oodi. Meswele was the younger sister of Legwale’s wife, Dimpho. Legwale had allegedly hired Mkhuha and another person not before court to kill his wife and mother-in-law, believing that they were bewitching him. However, the hitmen mistakenly killed the young sister.
“This is an extreme case by all standards, it involves money and cold-blooded murder,” Court of Appeal (CoA) Justice,Tshepo Motswagole said on Wednesday.
“Your client is riding on someone’s belief in witchcraft,” Justice Motswagole added after listening to Mkhuha’s attorney, Letlhogonolo Makgane.
Mr Makgane had claimed that his client’s sentence was unprecedented and without justification.
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