Letlhogonolo Segaetsho (17) Picture: Soraya Crowie Letlhogonolo Segaetsho (17) Picture: Soraya Crowie
Kimberley - An apparently drunk teenage boy was beaten, stoned and stabbed to death allegedly by a group of men he had been fighting with over a girl he met at a local tavern.
Letlhogonolo Segaetsho, 17, was punched, kicked, hit with stones and stabbed in the neck, back and stomach by a group of men in Rhabe Street, Galeshewe, in the early hours of Sunday.
Segaetsho’s friend who saw the incident, said the drama started after the tavern they had been drinking at in Number 2 closed in the early hours of Sunday and when patrons were making their way to their respective homes.
“Segaetsho said that the girl he was fighting over was his girlfriend. What happened is that the girl left with other people and that was then he followed them and confronted them when they got to Rhabe Street,” the friend said.
“All of a sudden chaos erupted when the group of men ganged up and assaulted Segaetsho. When he fell on to the ground, they continued to kick him while some trampled on him until he was powerless.
“When they stopped assaulting him, he tried to stand up but could only manage to sit on his buttocks on the ground. It was at this point when one of the men went back to him and stood over him and stabbed him,” the friend added.
He also said that while the man was stabbing Segaetsho, he (the friend) called the ambulance several times but it was delayed.
“It looks as though by the time the ambulance arrived he had died. The police also arrived,” the friend said.
When the DFA arrived at the scene, Segaetsho’s body was lying next to the road and was already covered with a blanket. An empty bottle of beer was also close to him.
Emotions ran high when Segaetsho’s family members arrived at the scene only to find his body covered with the blanket.
Segaetsho’s brother, Kamogelo, vowed to avenge his brother’s death.
“I know the people who killed my brother. If they are released from police custody it would not be good for them. I will stab them too.”
One of Segaetsho’s aunts, Mercy Johnson, had to be carried from the scene when she cried hysterically.
Meanwhile, Segaetsho’s mother, Patience, said that she believed that her son, who was a Grade 11 learner at a school in Galeshewe, was killed because of his “expensive clothes and because girls loved him”.
“Some people hated him because he wore expensive clothes yet he was still a learner. Girls loved him a lot and some people did not like this. We believe that he was killed because of those two things,” Patience said.
With tears flowing down her cheeks, Patience said that she never thought that her son would be dead before even finishing Grade 12.
“It pains so much because I expected to see him going through to Grade 12 next year. As I speak now, I have prepared his school uniform because schools are reopening on July 15. I still wanted to see a lot out of my boy,” an emotional Patience added.
According to the Galeshewe police, Segaetsho was stabbed twice - once in the neck and once in the chest.
“It is believed that Segaetsho was waiting for his friend when he was approached by two men. A quarrel broke out between them and the deceased was attacked and stabbed,” police spokesman, Warrant Officer Bashaobile Kale, said.
He said two men have been arrested in connection with Segaetsho’s killing and that they will appear in court on Monday.
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