Mogau Grace Mashegwana (30) was killed in a fire at her house on the morning of April 1, 2023, a day after she celebrated her 30th birthday.
The incident took place in Moloto Village in KwaMhlanga.

An eyewitness, who cannot be named due to protective status afforded by the court, told the court that he was coming back from visiting a friend on the day in question, when he saw flames coming from Mogau’s house.

He testified that he waited to see if anyone would exit the house, and after some time, he saw a man walk out of the house and close the safety gate behind him.

He said the man turned around and looked in his direction, and he recognised the man as Sibusiso Joshua Mhlanga. Mhlanga then walked around the house and disappeared.

Mhlanga was allegedly a known friend of Mogau and had attended her birthday party the previous day.

The witness further told the court that he then approached the burning house, peeped through the door, and saw the body of a woman lying on the floor surrounded by flames.

According to him, he got water from a JoJo Tank nearby and tried to put out the fire, but failed.

Mogau’s sister, Gift Mashegwana, was called to the scene. When she arrived, the house was engulfed in flames. Firefighters were called, but the body was already burned beyond recognition.

Mhlanga allegedly arrived later at the scene, asked what had happened, and asked if the witness had seen anything, to which the witness replied, “No.”

According to the witness, he was asked the same question by Mhlanga a month later, and allegedly started threatening the witness to prevent him from giving a statement. The witness then said he decided to flee to Limpopo for protection, where the police later found him, to take his statement. He was then placed in witness protection.

Mhlanga was arrested in February 2024 and charged with murder, arson, and assault with intent. The assault charge was in relation to an earlier alleged assault on Martha Lepoto.

• Mhlanga assaulted Martha on January 21, 2023, by kicking her and hitting her in the face with a firearm.

Witnesses said an argument ensued between Mhlanga and two other people, and one of them called her brother to intervene. When the brother arrived, he got into a fight with Mhlanga. Mhlanga then went home and returned with a gun, looking for the brother.

Martha ran after seeing that Mhlanga was armed, and fell while running. Mhlanga then started hitting Martha in the face with the gun.

According to her, she was not involved in the argument between the brother and Mhlanga, and all she did was try to get them to stop fighting.

• The post-mortem report presented in court concluded the cause of death to be due to open flames, and further stated that Mogau had sustained an injury to her head, and soot was found in her lungs.

In court, Mhlanga denied he had killed Mogau, stating that at the time he was allegedly seen leaving the house, there was load-shedding in the area.
His lawyer argued that it couldn’t have been possible for the witness to see him, as he alleges he did.

He further added that an alleged confession on the charge of murder and arson was obtained after he was tortured, told he should confess, and told what to say.

Acting Judge GB Herman said the alleged confession was a result of a violation of Mhlanga’s constitutional rights, citing that the police failed to properly inform him of his rights to legal representation in a clear manner.

• The court found Mhlanga not guilty on the count of murder and arson in the death of Mogau, as the judge said the court felt the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

• Mhlanga was found guilty on the charge of assault with intent. He was handed down a R2 000 fine, or six months imprisonment, and an additional 12 months imprisonment suspended for three years.

Mhlanga’s family celebrated his acquittal.

Members of the Moloto community walked out of court while sentencing was taking place, clearly disappointed. They held a prayer outside the court for Mogau’s family after the unexpected acquittal.

Mogau’s uncle said that justice had not been served, and that Mhlanga’s acquittal was a great miscarriage of justice. He further thanked the community for their unyielding support.

Gift told the Middelburg Observer that the family were highly disappointed by the judgment, and she fears for her family’s lives and the lives of those who testified against Mhlanga, as she said he has been deemed dangerous in the community.

She added that as a family, she does not think they will take the matter further, and they will leave everything to God, while focusing on healing.

Mogau is survived by her parents, siblings, and her young daughter.