Abraham Tsheole, 3, was allegedly poisoned by his older brother. He was buried last week. Picture: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
The case of murder and defeating the ends of justice against an 18-year-old brother of the 3-year-old who died after allegedly being fed rat poison by him has been postponed to March 13.
The incident occurred on January 31 at their home in Orange Farm.
Ikemetse Tsheole appeared briefly in the Vereeniging Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where his legal representative, Lucky Sundani, argued for the bail application to be temporarily abandoned until the teenager undergoes a full mental health screening.
The court appearance marked Tsheole’s second.
Sundani indicated that he has consulted with both the family and the defendant, and suggested that the teenager be given mental health attention before the matter proceeds.
“As his legal representative your worship, I will bring an application in terms of Section 77, 78, and 79 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1997 as amended. From the instruction and documents, there is a prima facie approval that the applicant might not have appreciated the wrongfulness of his actions during the alleged commission of the offence, or might not even be able to follow the proceedings,” Sundani stated.
The teenager, who is said to have confessed to poisoning his brother Abraham with rat poison during an incident at their home on January 31, will be given a thorough screening before his court matter resumes next month.
Sundani further revealed while going through the suspect’s medical file, his client was diagnosed with Schizophrenia at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in 2021.
“Your honour, a file before me from the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital reveals that the accused person has a mental problem of Schizophrenia since 2021. The brief history indicates that the patient was taken to Chris Hani Hospital on October 19, 2021, with two weeks’ history of declining function, social withdrawal, and disorganised behaviour (praying at all times),” he stated.
According to the State prosecutor, advocate Taku Chabalala, discussions with the family indicate that the 18-year-old’s medical condition has reportedly worsened due to drug addiction.
“For the State to prosecute the accused properly on these charges, it must prove the accused at the commission of the offence had criminal capacity.
“To establish that, the accused must be referred to Sterkfontein Hospital, and only then and depending on the report from the psychiatrist, the State will decide whether the accused should be prosecuted or be declared a mental health patient,” said Chabalala.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the mother was at home on January 31 with the accused and her other two sons, aged 16 and 22, when she noticed at about 11am that her youngest son was missing.
“Assuming he was playing at a neighbour’s house, she (the mother) did not immediately raise the alarm. However, by 1pm when the child had still not returned, she started searching for him.
Last Thursday, family and community members of Drieziek, near Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg came out in numbers to attend Abraham’s funeral.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
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