Younger sister kills older sister in bloddy fight
Tamati Tladi is a mother in distress.
On Sunday she watched helplessly as her two girls fought each other to the death of the older sister.
In what she describes as a traumatic incident, the mother struggles to keep tears from running down her cheeks as she recounts the deadly scene.
She was in another yard when she received a call from her grandchild about the fight.
26-year-old accused Amogelang Tladi now faces a charge of the murder of her older sister, Mmapula Tladi (29).
Cutting a lonely and confused figure, Amogelang appeared before Lobatse Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday where her charge sheet was read out to her.
Today she returns to court as the state through the Police is expected to make its submissions to oppose her bail.
In Ramatlabama her mother- who is also preparing for the funeral of the other sister –tried to narrate details of the tragic incident to The Voice reporters.
“I am just from writing my statement with the police. I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and this has really gotten to me. They are both my children, what am I supposed to do now?” the distraught mother said as the interview started.
Initially reluctant to speak to The Voice the mother eventually broke down and described her deceased child as a ‘bully and the other child who is in prison as a victim of circumstances.
“The dead one is my firstborn child but she was a bully, she even bullied me, her own mother. My child made a mistake by killing her older sister because she was defending herself. I will tell you this even as I arrived the deceased sister was beating her to a pulp. She locked her younger sister inside the house and gave her a serious beating,” the mother further stated adding that she could only wait outside helplessly as the fight went on for sometime.
Asked what could have caused the fight, the mother said: “They have been promising to kill each other since 2012. When I ask them what they were fighting for I never got a clear answer. I take care of them both. I buy them food and I pay for their upkeep. I just don’t know what was wrong.”
According to the mother, her deceased older child was on and off depression medication.
“I have been telling the police for years to lock them both in prison. It was not the first time they had a serious bloody fight. I have reported them to the police a lot of times and they did nothing. If they had done something like I told them to lock them away both my children would be here, not one dead and the other in prison,” she said shaking her head.
The mother further asked The Voice to sensitize the public about sharing such information on social media before the family could do so.
“I want you to speak about Facebook. People wrote about my daughters’ incident before we could tell other relatives. We were still at the Police station when it was already viral on social media. I don’t mind you (journalist) reporting about this but this Facebook needs to stop!),” she pleaded.
Confirming the incident to The Voice was Ramatlabama Station Commander, Superintendent Zibani Mbisana who said that the younger sister stabbed her elder sister with a sharp object on the cheek.
“After the matter was reported to the police, the woman was rushed to Goodhope Primary Hospital where she was certified dead upon arrival by the medical doctor. We are still investigating the cause of the incident,” said Mbisana who took the opportunity to issue advice for people to seek assistance from relevant authorities whenever they have problems.
The police advice however was dismissed by the distraught mother who stated that she had reported her children’s fights to Ramatlabama Police before but never got helped.
“I guess they wait for something bad to happen so they can come here to tell us to report. They (Police) just sit and do nothing but they get a salary at the end of the month,” the stressed mother lashed out.
Amogelang will appear in court again on Thursday for the court to decide if she should be granted bail or remanded in custody.
