Family betrayal: Gauteng man sentenced for killing younger brother over his inheritance

The Pretoria North Magistrates’ Court has sentenced 40-year-old Dineo Cambridge Baloyi to life imprisonment for the murder of his younger brother, Lethabo Baloyi.

In addition to the life sentence, the court imposed a further five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder and declared Baloyi unfit to possess a firearm.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, said at the time of the incident, the deceased, aged 27, was employed by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and lived at the barracks, while Baloyi resided with their mother at her home in Soshanguve. Their mother, also an SANDF employee, was frequently deployed outside the country.

Mahanjana said that during one of the mother's deployments, Baloyi went to her bedroom and discovered her last will and testament. After learning that he was not a beneficiary and that his younger brother stood to inherit, he shared this information with his girlfriend. The pair then devised a plan to kill the deceased.

On May 30, 2018, Baloyi and his girlfriend invited the deceased to their mother’s residence under the guise of socialising. They secretly laced his drink with poison. When he lost consciousness, they strangled him to death.

"They placed the body in the deceased’s vehicle and deliberately crashed it along the R80 Mabopane Highway in an attempt to stage the murder as a motor vehicle accident," said Mahanjana.

After the incident, Baloyi’s girlfriend fled to Thembisa and has not yet been traced by police. Baloyi escaped to Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga, where he was later arrested for an unrelated kidnapping case involving another partner and her child.

While in custody, Baloyi fell ill and was hospitalised in September 2024. During his hospitalisation, he contacted his uncle and confessed to killing his brother.

"The investigating officer travelled to Mpumalanga, where Baloyi made a formal confession before a magistrate. He was subsequently arrested for the murder on September 9, 2024," added Mahanjana.

In court, Baloyi pleaded guilty to the charges and asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence, citing his children as dependents.

However, Regional Prosecutor Lufuno Manena opposed the request and argued for life imprisonment, submitting that the murder was driven by jealousy and greed.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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