Publications
- The man who killed Tshegofatso Pule has described how he carried out the murder.
- Pule's grief-stricken family left the court after hearing about how their loved one was killed.
- Muzikayise Malephane told the court that he shot Pule because he did not have the guts "to hang her alive".
Tshegofatso Pule was taken out of the silver grey Jeep and shot in Noordgesig before she was left hanging from a tree in Durban Deep, Roodepoort.
Muzikayise Malephane, currently serving a 20-year-sentence for Pule's murder, testified on Thursday at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg about how she was killed.
"I parked the car on the side. I got out. I had a firearm in my hand. I opened the door on Pule's side.
"I grabbed Pule by the hand and told her to get out of the car and I shot her. After I shot her, I picked her up [and] put her in the back seat," Malephane told the court.
Several family members left the court in tears after hearing the details of how their loved one's life was ended on 4 June 2020.
READ | Tshegofatso Pule's friend testifies that murder-accused Shoba was 'in a relationship' with deceased
Nthutuko Shoba, who is believed to have been Pule's boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, is currently on trial for being the alleged mastermind behind her murder.
In his testimony, Malephane said that from Noordgesig he then went to Durban Deep, Roodepoort where he hanged her.
Shoba's lawyer, advocate Norman Makhubela asked Malephane: "The plan was to hang her. When did it change?"
However, Malephane said the plan had not changed.
He said:
When Makhubela probed him as to why he shot her when he was supposed to make it look like a suicide, Malephane said: "I did not have the guts to go hang her alive."
At the time of Pule's disappearance, her family told the media that the 28-year-old beautician had gone to visit Shoba - who they described as her boyfriend - as they had to buy clothes for their unborn child.
Malephane implicated Shoba in Pule's murder in his plea bargain with the State.
Shoba faces one count of murder, alternatively conspiracy to commit murder, and defeating the ends of justice.
The trial continues.
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