Daughter who ordered hit on dad influenced by aunt – family

The family of a Limpopo woman who hired hitmen to kill her father after a sangoma told her that he had used muti to murder her mother believes the woman’s maternal aunt influenced her to consult the traditional healer.

This is according to a family relative who did not want to be named.

The woman, Mologadi Mehlape, 28, pleaded guilty to the murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances of her dad, Dr Johannes Mehlape. She was handed a 15-year sentence last month at the Polokwane high court.

Mehlape’s maternal aunt, Mahlodi Melida Mathole, 44, a school principal, Tshepho Ranoto, 35, Sello Molongoane, 50, and the sangoma, Hlolofelo Mogotlane, 35, were arrested a few weeks after the 2021 murder and are in custody awaiting trial. 

After the murder, the relationship between the Mehlape and Mathole families soured, said the relative.

“There was tension after the wife passed away,” the relative said. “Naturally, with the knowledge of the aunt’s involvement, the relationship between the two families is non-existent. This has left feelings of sadness, anger and confusion in the Mehlape family.”

Mehlape’s mother died after a short illness in 2021, and it was later found that she had a heart condition.

The relative said after her mother’s death, it did not seem like Mehlape was blaming her father, nor did she act in a way that made the family suspicious that she would have him killed.

“Mologadi’s behaviour was normal, just like someone who lost her parent. She was heartbroken, and there was nothing extraordinary about her behaviour.”

Mehlape later consulted a sangoma without informing her relatives.

According to the police, the traditional healer told Mehlape that her father was responsible for her mother’s death through the use of muti.

“When attempts to retaliate using traditional means failed, Mehlape enlisted the help of various family members to hire a contract killer, agreeing to pay R200,000 for the murder,” police said.

On December 28 2023, the father was home with Mehlape and her younger brother when intruders shot him several times in bed.

Mehlape told police at the time that she was ambushed when she returned from a function and forced inside the house. The suspects then demanded to know the whereabouts of her father and robbed one of the two people they had rounded up inside.

“As a family, we were shocked and are still shocked,” said the relative. “We still can’t believe it. The pain of losing Dr Mehlape is a profound and complex experience. We were heartbroken as he was a pillar of strength to the Mehlape family.

“This is going to take us many years to forget and accept it. The younger brother was at home and witnessed the cruel and brutal murder itself.”

The deceased was a circuit manager for the Limpopo education department. 

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