The Johannesburg High Court has finally sealed a painful chapter today, after the sitting Judge Stuart Wilson, handed down a hefty sentence to the murder convict, Ntuthuko Shoba.
Shoba, who had a hand in the brutal murder of his then heavily pregnant ex-girlfriend, was today found to have been the mastermind behind killing slain, Tshegofatso Pule and he was slapped with life imprisonment.
“Shoba attempted to kill Pule at least twice. It’s clear that Shoba was the prime mover in bringing her death. Pule’s killer was hired by Shoba. Pule was vivacious but she was vulnerable,” said Wilson when handing down judgment stating that the offence was one of the worst he had come across.
Last year in 2021, Muzikayise Malephane opened can of worms, when he confessed that Shoba ordered him to kill the 28-year-old Pule who was eight months pregnant in 2020.
Malephane, who was ordered by Shoba, showed remorse by turning state witness and his sentence was reduced to 20 years.
He told the court that, Shoba wanted Pule dead because he did not want his wife to find out about pregnancy and their midnight affair.
The High Court did not see Shoba being remorseful because he never turned himself to the law enforcement.
“There was remorse by Malephane to such an extent that he wanted to give the family closure and Shoba did not do that,” said State prosecutor, Faghre Mohammed.
Although, on Thursday, Shoba’s lawyer Norman Makhubele argued that Shoba, should not be subjected to a life sentence, suggesting a 20-year jail sentence, Wilson came with guns blazing stating that, Shoba does not deserve the leniency that was granted to his hitman, Malephane.
“Malephane was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Shoba’s lawyers argued that Shoba should get the same. Shoba’s role as the prime mover in commissioning the offense makes his situation different. Shoba would have carried on looking for a way to kill Pule with or without Malephane,” said Wilson.
“You will spend the rest of your natural life in prison,” he told Shoba.
Tshegofatso Pule’s last days
The 28-year-old Pule, originally from Soweto, was eight months pregnant when she was shot dead and hanged on a tree by Malephane.
Her bloodstained body was found hanging from a tree in the Durban Deep area of Roodepoort, Gauteng Province in June 2020.
A rope had been tied around her neck and looped over a branch and her body hoisted aloft.
Her family last saw her when she went with Shoba to buy clothes for their baby.
She later sent them a text message saying she and Shoba had argued and she was returning home.
According to the footages presented to the court, Tshegofatso was seen leaving Shoba’s apartment in a grey Jeep, and she was not seen again until her corpse was found four days later.
Muzikayise Malephane’s confession
In February 2021, Malephane confessed to the murder of Pule, and implicated Shoba as the mastermind, saying Shoba had wanted Pule killed.
Malephane pleaded guilty to the murder and is currently serving a 20-year sentence.
Cellphone records implicating Shoba
Shoba was convicted in March after damning evidence from police including cellphone records which showed that he had called Malephane 23 times on the day she went missing.
The prosecution also led evidence on a series of WhatsApp messages between Shoba and Pule showing that he was absent, did not care about Pule.
It was also revealed this was the second time Pule had been pregnant with Shoba’s child.
South Africans took to Twitter to welcome justice for the slain Tshegofatso Pule:
You may also be interested in:
Man gets 2 life terms for murder, attempted rape of old woman
Welkom Magistrate Court sentence two foreigners to life imprisonment for armed robbery, gruesome murder
Man to serve life sentence for kidnapping, murder of girlfriend’s daughter
Inside Tshegofatso Pule’s murder trial this week: What transpired?
Ex-boyfriend sentenced to life imprisonment for rape
Life sentence for child rapist
Bultfontein rapist to serve life in jail
Rapist handed life sentence for brutally raping old woman
