Although physically she has been on bail, Tshupo Rantshono has been stuck in her own personal prison, living the last 18 months with a murder charge hanging heavily over her slender shoulders.
The 21-year-old’s torment came to a temporary end last Thursday when the long overdue postmortem results dictated the charge be downgraded from murder to assault occasioning actual bodily harm – a charge the accused immediately pleaded guilty to.
The Maboane native was originally accused of murdering her two-month-old nephew, Vincent Rantshono, after a fight with the infant’s mother spiraled tragically out of control.
It is said that on 21 January 2019, at Segwagwa ward in Maboane, Rantshono had a fierce argument with her aunt and sister who had allegedly been poking fun at her child.
The row soon turned physically and resulted in the older woman pinning Rantshono to the ground.
It seems that later the same day, desperate to get revenge for the earlier humiliation, Rantshono approached her aunt armed with a stone.
Intent on striking her aunt, Rantshono accidently hit her young relative on the left ear instead.
The minor was rushed to hospital but died six days later.
However, the postmortem results – only released last week – showed that the toddler died of natural causes with his death in no way linked to the assault.
It was found that the little boy had both Meningitis (inflammation of the covering membranes of the brain) and Lobar Pneumonia (infection and inflammation of all the lobes of the lungs which interferes with the process of respiration and causes death from ultimate respiratory failure).
Meanwhile, Rantshono, who was again given bail, is due back before Molepolole Magistrates Court on 6 July for facts presentation.
Despite her relief, the young mum still faces a possible sentence of five years behind bars.
