MOPANI – Richard Mokoena (33) of Ga-Relane village briefly appeared in the Mapulaneng Magistrate’s Court on Monday on a charge of murder. The incident relating to the case occurred at Ga-Relane in the Bushbuckridge area on Sunday night at about 23:30.

The police spokesperson in the Mopani Area, Capt Maano Sadiki, said that the suspect was asleep in his house during the night of the incident. While sleeping, he heard some footsteps outside the house but within the premises. The suspect braved the dark night and went out to find out what was happening.

When he got outside, he found the deceased walking around the house, holding a hammer in his hand. Instead of running away, the deceased chose to meet the suspect face to face and assaulted him with the hammer on the left arm. What followed next was a wrestling between Richard Mokoena and the deceased.

During the ordeal, the suspect overpowered the deceased and dispossessed him of the weapon. The suspect then allegedly used the weapon to strike the deceased several times on the head. He died on the spot. The suspect called the police after the incident.

The deceased was lying next to the weapon when the police arrived at the scene. The deceased was still to be identified at the time of going to press. The suspect was arrested shortly after the incident and he appeared in court the following day.

The police have appealed to people who can identify the deceased to contact Capt Taylor Nkuna at 0824691298 or 013-7990221. The suspect was not asked to plead on Monday and the case was remanded until today, Friday, September 2, for a bail application.