Sandiso Phaliso
A man who blamed a “love potion” for moving him to murder his ex-girlfriend and her mother was sentenced to two life terms behind bars on Tuesday.
Moshoeshoe Falatsa, a Lesotho national, had pleaded guilty to killing both Nthati and her mother Pulane Lanto on 29 October 2020 at their home after a heated argument.
In his plea explanation, Falatsa admitted that he and Nthati were in a rocky romantic relationship characterised by fights. This led to her leaving their home in the village of Tienbank in Sterkspruit to go to Ceres in the Western Cape.
He claimed that even though their relationship wasn’t working he kept trying to get back together with Nthati because of the spell of the so-called “love potion”, a mysterious concoction given to him by Nthati.
It is unclear where Nthati obtained this potion or what it contained.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said Falatsa claimed that he kept on communicating over the phone while she was in Ceres until she introduced him to her new boyfriend.
“When she came back, Falatsa, who claimed to have been under a spell from a ‘love potion or muthi’ given to him by Nthati, he still wanted them to mend things in their relationship.”
On the day of the murder, the couple met at Nthati’s home to discuss their relationship but they ended up quarrelling.
“Falatsa alleged that his girlfriend’s mother intervened and insulted him in the process even though he had been assisting her and her other children financially. He left her home in a rage and returned that night, broke open a window and stabbed both women to death,” said Tyali.
Falatsa then fled the village and spent the remainder of that night in an open field. He was arrested after his friend convinced him to hand himself over to authorities.
