5-year-old pleads as her father stabs mother to death in South Africa

Five-year-old daughter of murdered Priska Thandeka reportedly witnessed the gruesome murder of her mother by her father, new reports said.

Sebeshi Zacharia Mojela, a security guard allegedly stabbed his 29-year-old girlfriend to death in Commissioner Street, South Africa on February 27. He was charged with murder.

"She apparently kept begging him not to kill her mom and kept saying, 'No daddy, stop killing mommy," said family friend, Raele Labani.

 The accused made his second court appearance in Kempton Park Magistrrate’s Court on Tuesday morning, March 14th. Mojela (28) was meant to apply for bail, which he did not.

According to Capt Jethro Mtshali, spokesperson for Kempton Park SAPS, Mojela chose to abandon his bail application.

“He will remain in custody and the case was postponed to May 4,” Mtshali said.

Chalk and Mojela first met when she was a teenager, during the times she would visit her mom. According to Lambani, Mojela at the time lived with his mother where she worked as a domestic worker in Glen Marais. 

By 2007/2008, the bright young Schalk had completed her tuition and was searching for a job.
“She entered a learnership programme with Edcon, during which she performed very well and was hired permanently as a debt collector. She was again recently promoted and was supposed to start working as a manager.”

Lambani also told EXPRESS that the pair were in fact legally married, although Schalk had not changed her surname.

“They married about six or seven years ago. I’m not actually sure if they had a wedding but her (Thandeka’s) mom told me they went to go sign at home affairs in Kempton.”

According to Lambani, Mojela completed a security course after matric and has worked as a security guard since. She says she is still shocked at what happened, as he was not a violent or disrespectful person.

“I really don’t understand what happened. Maybe they had some sort of problem but if they did, she never mentioned anything to us,” she says of the always bubbly Schalk. Thandeka was forever smiling and kind, so we couldn’t tell if she was unhappy or not.”

The last time Lambani and her sister had spoken to Schalk was late Sunday afternoon, the day before she died.

“My sister and her had a normal conversation and she sounded just fine. She was even mentioning that she still owed my sister a lunch date.”

Schalk was buried on Sunday, March 4th, in her hometown Taung in North West.

She took financial care of her mother, who is not permanently employed, as well as her grandparents. Their daughter is currently in the care of her grandmother.