KEY POINTS
- A Gauteng mother received an eight-year suspended sentence for poisoning her children in 2022, killing her son and hospitalizing her daughter, after the court considered her mental health crisis and financial desperation.
- The woman confessed immediately when her children fell ill during a car trip, but her son could not be saved; she was released on bail and has since cared for her surviving daughter.
- The controversial ruling highlights tensions between justice for victims and compassion for offenders with mental health struggles, prompting discussions about systemic support gaps.
A Gauteng mother who poisoned her two children in 2022, resulting in the death of her 16-year-old son and the poisoning of her then 7-year-old daughter, has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years.
The Pretoria High Court, sitting in Benoni, delivered the controversial verdict on Friday, citing “substantial and compelling circumstances” for deviating from the prescribed life sentence.
The tragic incident occurred after the woman fell victim to a financial scam that left her unable to pay school fees, compounded by a recent devastating health diagnosis. “She was not in the right frame of mind when she committed these acts,” said NPA Regional Spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, explaining the court’s consideration of the mother’s mental state.
On that fateful day in June 2022, the mother laced her children’s food with poison before driving them toward the Free State.
When the children became violently ill in Frankfort, she stopped at a gas station to seek help and confessed her actions.
Emergency services rushed both children to Frankfort Hospital, where the teenage boy succumbed to the poisoning.
IOL reports that the mother was arrested but later released on R5,000 bail.
Court weighs trauma against accountability
During sentencing arguments, the court heard harrowing details about the family’s circumstances.
The father of the deceased testified about his ongoing grief, stating that while he had forgiven the mother, “the pain of losing my son will never leave me.” Meanwhile, the defense emphasized the woman’s role as primary caregiver to her surviving daughter and her documented struggles with depression.
Acting Judge Van der Westhuizen ultimately ruled that the mother’s remorse, mental health challenges, and caregiving responsibilities constituted exceptional circumstances. “The court had to balance the gravity of the crimes with the reality of her psychological trauma and current rehabilitation,” Mahanjana explained.
The suspended sentence carries the condition that the mother not be convicted of murder during the five-year suspension period.
The case has sparked debate about how South Africa’s justice system handles crimes committed during mental health crises, with some advocates arguing for more robust mental health interventions to prevent such tragedies.
