Titos Timtos Thabo (28) is said to have stabbed Phindile Portia Mahlangu to death in full view of more than 80 people who were on the Putco bus travelling down Moloto Road in KwaMhlanga on 6 January. He appeared in the Middelburg High Court this morning.

In the state’s heads of argument, prosecutor Bakedi Maoke said that the accused was murdered in a brutal way, evident in the post mortem photos and when listening to eye witness accounts.

Thabo kept on stabbing Mahlangu, even after she got off the bus and whilst she was trying to get away from him, begging for help. He also cut her throat which she tried to hold together with her own hands to keep from bleeding out.

Thabo claimed that he was acting in self defense and that the deceased tried to stab him first.

Acting Judge Mankge said that in this case the seriousness of the offence and the interest of society are intertwined. She said the fact that Thabo indicated that he knew about the campaign against gender-based violence and still chose to become part of the statistic is a spit in the face of a very serious matter.

“Mpumalanga is now a warzone for women. Of the last few cases, out of 100 %, 99% of the cases before court was about gender-based violence. Mpumalanga will soon be on the national radar for women dying at the hands of their men,” judge Mankge said.

She called Thabo’s actions those of someone who has “evil inside them” and said that he had fathered a child with another woman, who he wanted to put on hold whilst he was trying to control Mahlangu.

Acting judge Mankge quoted the Statistician General in saying that a society free of the fear of crime is tantamount to growing the economy because their fear of crime, limits women’s engagement in economic activity. She also warned that tourists will think twice about visiting South Africa if crimes of a gender-based nature put South Africa on the global map.

“The impact of gender-based violence goes beyond spreadsheets and economics. It goes to matters of the heart. If matters of the heart is crooked in society, that society has no function. It seems society has been liberated but women are still trapped.”

Legal Aid advocate Musa Mavase acted on behalf of Thabo.

ANC chairman in Nkangala, Speedy Mashilo as well as eMalahleni mayor Linah Malatjie attended court to support the family of the deceased. Outside of court, a family member of Thabo said that although he knows that he will not see his cousin for a long time, he is happy with the judgement.