A woman who admitted to orchestrating the killing of her relatives has described her financial situation as dire and requested the Brits Magistrates Court in the North West fix her bail amount at R1,000.
Twenty-year-old Onthatile Sebati has been in police custody since last month and faces five counts of murder for allegedly ordering a hit on her parents, her young brother, and pregnant sister in Mmakau in 2016.
Sebati and the two alleged triggermen are expected back in court next Tuesday after their bail bid was postponed.
Speaking through her lawyer, Sebati said that she was unemployed, suffered from hypertension and survived on the allowance she received from her late parents’ estate.
She told the court that she would abide by all bail conditions because she simply could not afford to lose her bail money.
“Due to my dire financial situation, I can afford a bail of R1,000. My financial position is such that I cannot afford to abscond and in the process risk having my bail money forfeited to the State,” Sebati said.
At the same time, Sebati’s aunt, Japhtaline, said that she would not be the one to pay bail for her murder-accused niece.
“I don’t think I will be able to pay that bail. Maybe from the maternal side, maybe they are the ones who will be able to pay bail,” she said.
Sebati’s co-accused, Tumelo and Kagiso Mokone, have also asked for bail to be set at R1,000.