‘Shoba arranged for his girlfriend to be killed’
Nthuthuko Shoba will be back again at the high court in Johannesburg on May 10 for sentencing.
Nthuthuko Shoba will be back again at the high court in Johannesburg on May 10 for sentencing. This comes after the former JSE analyst was found guilty of murdering Tshegofatso Pule.
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He was facing charges of premeditated murder, with an alternative count of conspiracy to murder and obstruction of justice. The court found him innocent on the count of obstruction of justice.
Before delivering his judgment, Acting Judge Stuart Wilson summarised the evidence that was presented before the court throughout the trial. He first looked at the relationship between Shoba and his triggerman, Muzikayise Malephane and said he was convinced that the two sometimes moved in same circles even though they were not close.
A look into their relationship provided a basis for another piece of evidence which relates to cellphone records. A particular 081 number was used for communication between Shoba and Malephane when the murder was planned.
This number became a subject of debate during the trial as Shoba disputed knowing it. However, data from cellphone towers proved that every time the 081 number was activated, it was always at close proximity to the 076 number registered to Shoba.
Judge Willson noted that cellphone evidence alone was not enough to incriminate or convict Shoba. “However, I accept that it is weighty enough to provide some corroboration to Mr. Malepane’s assertion that Mr. Shoba used the 081 number to communicate with him,” said the judge.
The CCTV footage which was screened in court also corroborated Malephane’s version that he picked up Tshegofatso from Shoba’s place in a Jeep. Another piece of evidence from Malephane which the state used was the bogus job interview set up at McDonald’s to lure Tshegofatso.
This was corroborated by the first state witness, Thepiso Tsita who told the court that she was with Tshegofatso when she got the call to come for a job interview at McDonald’s.
The state’s case rested heavily on Malephane’s confession which was challenged by the defence on the basis that he had previously lied when he gave a statement to the police. Shoba’s lawyer went as far as calling Malephane a fantasist and a great story teller who just wanted to implicate his client.
Judge Wilson was however not convinced that Malephane had lied about everything he said in his confession statement. “When read with the corroborating evidence I have set out above, the core of Mr. Malepane’s evidence takes on a reliable character. By the time the State closed its case, Mr. Shoba had a lot to explain,” said Judge Wilson.
With regards to evidence presented by Shoba, the judge said it did not prove to be consistent with his claimed innocence. Judge Wilson particularly questioned Shoba’s lack of interest in checking who was driving the Jeep that picked up Tshegofatso from his place on the night she was killed.
The judge said, “The only reasonable explanation for Mr. Shoba’s apparent lack of interest is that he knew exactly who had come and what was going to happen to Ms. Pule when she drove off with him.”
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