Tshegofatso Pule’s murder: Judgment day for Ntuthuko Shoba

The Johannesburg High Court is expected to deliver judgment on Friday in the trial of the alleged mastermind behind Tshegofatso Pule’s murder.

Ntuthuko Shoba is facing charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and defeating the ends of justice for allegedly plotting Pule’s murder on 4 June 2020.

The 28-year-old beautician – who was eight months pregnant at the time of her death with Shoba’s child – was found stabbed and hanging from a tree in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg.

The last time she was seen alive was at Shoba’s apartment in Florida, just days before her body was discovered in Durban Deep.

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Pule was murdered by self-confessed gunman Mzikayise Malephane, who in February 2021 confessed to the killing and turned state witness. He is currently serving 20 years in prison.

Murder plot

During the trial, Malephane told the court Shoba hired him to kill Pule because he did not want his wife to find out about her pregnancy.

Shoba admitted that he interacted with Malephane in the lead up to Pule’s murder, but claimed he was just looking to score cigarettes from him.

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But Malephane, during his evidence-in-chief, told the court Shoba first got in touch with him in May 2020 and that he came to his house later that same day and broached the subject of having Pule killed.

He said Shoba came to his house on 4 June 2020 – the day of the murder – to make the necessary arrangements.

During cross-examination, though, Shoba’s counsel, advocate Norman Makhubela, said on his client’s version he and Malephane bumped into each other just after South Africa went into hard lockdown; and that during their exchange, Malephane had advised Shoba he was able to get alcohol and cigarettes – which were both, at the time, banned.

It also emerged in court that Malephane was a career criminal – providing potential insight into why Shoba might have sought out his services.

Malephane testified that Shoba was afraid of him. Under re-examination, state advocate Faghre Mohamed asked him why. In response, he admitted to “living a gangster life” – stealing cars and breaking into houses.

New evidence

The murder trial wrapped up in February after the state and defence presented their closing arguments in the matter.

However, earlier this month the case was reopened after Shoba’s legal team submitted CCTV footage to the high court as new evidence.

The footage is from the night that Pule was picked up by Malephane from Shoba’s complex in Florida.

Shoba wanted acting judge Stuart Wilson to consider the CCTV footage before judgment could be delivered in the trial.

The 32-year-old has been in police custody since he was denied bail for the third time in September last year.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe. Additional reporting by Bernadette Wicks

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