Johannesburg – A South African court on Friday jailed for life a man who arranged for his pregnant mistress to be shot and hanged, in a case that shocked the country.
The body of 28-year-old Tshegofatso Pule, was found hanging from a tree and with a bullet in her chest in June 2020.
The body was found some 20km (12 miles) from Johannesburg, several days after Pule, who was eight months pregnant, had disappeared.
“This was a contract killing,” the prosecutor said, calling for the maximum sentence for defendant Ntuthuko Shoba, whom he said had showed “no remorse” during the trial.
Shoba, 33, a former employee of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, was found guilty of planning the murder and paying a hitman to carry out the crime.
Pule was “vulnerable, she was pregnant” and she trusted him, added prosecutor Faghre Mohamed. “Her murder had been planned for a long time.”
ALSO READ | Man who cut girlfriend’s body into pieces and discarding them at different locations gets life sentence
Shoba had hired the hitman to murder his girlfriend, fearing that his wife, who had just come into an inheritance, would find out about his affair and the impending birth.
The hired killer is serving a 20-year jail term after admitting his guilt.
Shoba denied to the end that he was the mastermind behind the murder.
The victim’s aunt accused him of planning the killing.
“He looked at her for the very last time knowing very well that my child was going to die,” she told the court on Thursday.
“Your day will come. You will not have peace, never,” she said, pointing at the accused.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has cited the case in several speeches, condemning violence against women, which is particularly serious in South Africa.
More than 100 rapes are reported daily, while on average a woman is murdered every three hours, according to official data released late last year.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Source: AFP
Picture: Pexels
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
