A man who brutally killed his mother in July 2016 by tying her to the back of his car and dragging her until she died, escaped the hangman’s noose this morning as a Francistown High Court sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
According to court papers, the 49-year-old, Dibebe Ngele, murdered his mother- Thandile Mbulawa aged 63, at Natale village.
Before passing sentence, Justice Bengbame Sechele stated that the accused’s attorney- Mishingo Jeremiah had implored the court to take into account that the accused had unresolved anger issues and that such anger was directed to his mother.
“Mr Jeremiah also dwelt at much length on the psychiatrist evidence concerning the accused’s state of mind at the time he committed this offence. The accused has however committed a serious offence. The circumstances of this murder were not only bizarre but chillingly gruesome. The accused tied the deceased, his own mother, to the tow hitch of his motor vehicle and then drove off,” said Judge Sechele.
He noted that the accused dragged the deceased, an elderly person along a gravel road causing her severe injuries from which she demised.
He also stated that the accused’s only reason was his belief that the deceased was bewitching him.
Judge Sechele also indicated that in his view, this was a gratuitous attack on a defenseless woman. “An attack that is as inexplicable as it is unreasonable. I will in the circumstances sentence the accused to 20 years imprisonment and which period will be reckoned from 25th June 2021 when he was convicted,” added Judge Sechele.
He concluded by advising the accused of his right to appeal within six weeks and that the exhibit in the form of a motor vehicle is forfeited to the state.
On the fateful day Ngele is said to have gone to Natale where he convinced his mother to accompany him to Francistown.
On the way he tied his mother to the back of the car and drove for a kilometre dragging her on the gravel road.
He is said to have handed himself to the police and told them his mother was bewitching him.
