The Polokwane High Court has sentenced 58-year-old Moruthanyane Wilfred Nkadimeng to 25 years’ direct imprisonment for the brutal 2022 murders of his wife, her male companion, and his own daughter, as well as the attempted murder of a second daughter.
The sentencing on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, brings a close to a nearly three-year legal process that began on the night of Monday, 26 September 2022, in Bothashoek, Tubatse.
According to evidence presented before the court, the tragic incident unfolded around 23:50 when Nkadimeng’s wife arrived at their home with a male companion. The deceased wife entered the house and engaged in a discussion with Nkadimeng, who is her ex-partner, regarding money he had collected from a rental property that belonged to her. The discussion quickly escalated into a heated argument.
The couple’s daughter attempted to intervene to calm the situation. In a fit of rage, Nkadimeng produced a firearm. He first shot his daughter and then fatally shot his wife. He then chased another daughter and shot her several times.
The male victim who had arrived with the wife, upon hearing the gunshots, entered the house to investigate and was also shot dead by the accused.
Nkadimeng callously left the victims lying in pools of blood. The surviving daughter, who had been shot, managed to alert the police.
Police officers responded swiftly to the scene, where they discovered three people deceased and placed Nkadimeng under arrest on the spot. His subsequent applications for bail were denied multiple times.
The Polokwane High Court finally found Nkadimeng guilty on Monday, 25 August 2025, on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The court handed down the following sentences:
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Count 1 (Murder): 25 years imprisonment
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Count 2 (Murder): 25 years imprisonment
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Count 3 (Murder): 25 years imprisonment
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Count 4 (Attempted Murder): 8 years imprisonment
The court ordered that the sentences for Counts 2, 3, and 4 run concurrently with the sentence for Count 1. This means Nkadimeng will serve an effective 25 years in prison.
