Murderer convicted after baseball bat attack
Mahlangu was convicted for killing Kagiso Tshehla.
According to the court, Mahlangu was arrested after he fatally struck Kagiso with a baseball bat on the head multiple times on October 7, 2020.
Itumeleng Tshehla, Kagiso's brother, testified in court that he was there when an argument ensued between him, Kagiso, and Mahlangu.
The fight was allegedly about Mahlangu's dagga plants that were removed from the garden by the two brothers.
Itumeleng said he and Kagiso then left and began walking home, but Mahlangu came out of his home carrying a baseball bat, heading toward Kagiso.
He said he tried to warn his brother by shouting, but it was too late. Mahlangu repeatedly hit Kagiso with the baseball bat on his head and chest.
Itumeleng further added that Mahlangu attempted to hit him, and he sustained injuries on both his palms.
Mahlangu then fled the scene.
Itumeleng told the court that he took his brother home, where a friend drove them to the Middelburg Provincial Hospital.
He said that due to Covid-19 restrictions, he could not go inside with his brother. Itumeleng was later informed that Kagiso had succumbed to his injuries.
Mahlangu denied the allegations and told the court that it was the two brothers who followed him to his home.
He said he saw Kagiso standing at his gate and asked him to leave multiple times. He added that Kagiso asked if the two could talk, but Mahlangu refused and asked Kagiso to leave.
Mahlangu testified that he eventually got tired of asking Kagiso to leave and walked into the house to fetch a baseball bat to scare the brothers into leaving.
He added that after he saw Kagiso reaching into his pocket for what he believed to be a weapon, he started hitting him with the bat to protect himself, acting in self-defence.
Magistrate Deon Minnie, however, was not convinced, 'The accused agreed during his testimony that he was not scared when he approached the deceased at the gate, and that he did so while armed with the baseball bat, as the deceased had allegedly insulted his deceased mother. The assault on the deceased thus appears to have been executed in revenge.'
The court held that Mahlangu could have foreseen the possibility that hitting Kagiso with the baseball bat could have fatally harmed him. Minnie added that by continuing to strike Kagiso on the head, Mahlangu reconciled himself with the consequences of his actions.
• His defence was rejected by the court, and Mahlangu was found guilty of murder.
• The case was postponed for sentencing.
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