Mahungela realised representing himself may have been a mistake, as he said he wanted to bring in a legal representative going forward.
FILE| Bafana Mahungela returns to Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on October 21, 2025 in Palm Ridge, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/OJ Koloti)
Bafana Mahungela could not believe his fate when the High Court in Johannesburg found him guilty on all charges related to the murder of Kirsten Kluyts.
On Friday, Judge Ian Cox found 23-year-old Mahungela guilty of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, defeating the ends of justice, and the murder and attempted rape of Sandton teacher Kluyts on 29 October 2023.
Kluyts, a teacher at Delta Park High School, was attacked while participating in the MyRun event.
Her body was found at George Lea Park (Sandton Sports Club) in Parkmore hours after her disappearance.
Mahungela was subsequently arrested at the Varsity College student residence in Benmore on 26 November after the police obtained video footage from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the vicinity of Parkmore.
The case was postponed to 27 October 2026 for sentencing proceedings.
Mahungela: ‘Am I just supposed to listen?’
Just after Judge Cox delivered judgment, Mahungela, who represented himself during the trial, raised his hand in court to express his concerns. He seemed to believe he could challenge the verdict.
“Am I supposed to just be quiet? Am I supposed to just stand and listen?” Mahungela asked the judge.
Judge Cox explained the process to Mahungela.
“For now, yes, because this was the court’s judgment, remember? The next process will be the sentencing phase. Prior to sentencing, a report will be delivered to the court with your background, personal circumstances, and things that the social workers have investigated, which may be relevant to sentencing.
“You will then, once again, be given an opportunity to either address the court on sentence, or testify as to what you think the court should take into account as far as sentencing is concerned. Whereafter, you will, obviously, be cross-examined.
“The state will also present their mitigating and aggravating factors to the court. Thereafter, the court will pronounce sentence. Subsequent to sentencing, I will, once again, explain your rights with regard to leave to appeal, and so forth.
“As far as the judgement itself is concerned, if you wish to criticise that, obviously, you will have the opportunity to do so after the sentencing phase.”
‘Will I not be tricked?’
In that moment, Mahungela realised representing himself may have been a mistake, as he said he wanted to bring in a legal representative going forward.
“After this whole process of the charges and whatnot, I’m not sure that I want to stand for myself, because during the trial, I was standing for myself under your care, and here I am guilty of all charges,” said Mahungela.
“But I was under your care. And the court said that they would be looking after my rights and all those things, but I’m guilty of all charges. And you said that you were going to look after my rights. So how am I sure that when I come here again, I’m not going to be tricked or something?
“When I wanted to reappoint my legal team during the trial, the court did not allow me to do that. Now, when I’m going to sentencing, I have the opportunity to bring back my lawyer.”
He asked to leave the courtroom before the judge could set his next appearance date, saying it would make no difference to him because “I am not going anywhere”.
