A man from Butterworth will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was sentenced on Friday for the brutal murder of his stepson in 2009.
Police Spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha says the 40 year old Sakhele Valela took his seven year old child to the Tsomo river and killed him with a pick and spade. He then buried the body underneath a rock in the river.
An eyewitness saw what was happening and went to the police.
Valela's wife ,who is the biological mother of the child, asked him where her son was. He insisted that he left him with other children.
The gruesome murder took place at Nyili Location Mpukane Village Ngqamakhwe on 29 September 2009 at about 07:00.
The Butterworth Station Commander Brigadier Stanley Sibidla welcomed the sentence.
