Brother Betrayal: Soshanguve Man Gets Life For Poisoning SANDF Sibling

A 40-year-old man from Soshanguve has been handed a life sentence after being convicted of the calculated murder of his younger brother, a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member, in a chilling family betrayal.

Lethabo Baloyi, 27, was serving in the SANDF and lived at the military barracks, while his older brother, Dineo Cambrige Baloyi, stayed with their mother at her home in Soshanguve. The Pretoria North magistrate’s court heard that the brothers shared the same mother, who was frequently deployed outside South Africa as part of her military duties.

Soshanguve Inheritance Plot That Turned Deadly

While their mother was on one of her international deployments, Baloyi entered her bedroom and came across her last will and testament. According to the National Prosecuting Authority, this discovery became the trigger for the crime.

“During one of her deployments, the accused accessed his mother’s bedroom and discovered her last will and testament. He discovered he was not a beneficiary, and that his brother stood to inherit,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.

“He shared this information with his girlfriend, and together they devised a plan to kill the younger man.”

Poisoned Drink and a Staged Crash

The court heard that on 30 May 2018, the pair invited the SANDF soldier to a party at their mother’s home in Soshanguve. What appeared to be a family gathering soon turned fatal.

“They secretly administered poison to his drink. When he lost consciousness, they strangled him until he died. They then placed his body in his vehicle, which they deliberately crashed along the R80 Mabopane highway in an attempt to stage the incident as a motor vehicle accident.”

Following the murder, the girlfriend disappeared and later resurfaced in Thembisa, Ekurhuleni. She has yet to be located by police.

Confession From a Hospital Bed Seals His Fate

After the killing, Baloyi fled to Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga. Years later, he was arrested for an unrelated kidnapping case involving another partner and her child. While in custody, he fell ill and was admitted to hospital in September 2024.

“While arrested, he became sick and was hospitalised in September 2024. While in hospital, he contacted his uncle and confessed to the murder of his brother,” Mahanjana said.

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Baloyi instructed his uncle to alert the authorities. An investigating officer travelled to Mpumalanga, where Baloyi formally confessed before a magistrate. In court, he pleaded guilty but appealed for leniency, citing his children as dependants.

The magistrate rejected his plea, finding that Baloyi showed a complete disregard for human life. The court noted that if he was capable of killing his own brother, he posed a clear danger to society, and imposed a life sentence.

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