Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the life sentence handed down to Ntuthuko Shoba. Photo: SA Gov/ Roodepoort Record.

President Ramaphosa welcomes sentencing in Tshegofatso murder case

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the life sentence handed down in the Tshegofatso case will send a strong messages to perpetrators

Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the life sentence handed down to Ntuthuko Shoba. Photo: SA Gov/ Roodepoort Record.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the life sentence handed down to Ntuthuko Shoba for the premeditated murder of Tshegofatso Pule and her unborn child as “befitting, appropriate, and justice for the two innocent lives he took so cruelly.”

RAMAPHOSA SAYS THE SENTENCE WILL SEND A STRONG MESSAGE

On Friday,29 July, the Gauteng High Court sentenced Shoba to life imprisonment for conspiring with a hitman, Muzikayise Malephane in 2020 to kill his 28-year-old girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant.

In March 2022, Shoba was convicted of premeditated murder.

ALSO READ: Tshegofatso Pule: Commission for Gender Equality, SAPS welcome judgement


“As a nation, we welcome this sentence that sends the strongest of messages that perpetrators of violence against women and children will face the full might of the law,” President Ramaphosa said.

The President said the sentence should serve as a warning to those who conspire with others to commit acts of violence against women and children.

The slain Tshegofatso Pule. Photo: Vim Buzz.



“This was a crime of particular callousness, by a man who had made several attempts on the life of a woman who was carrying his child. The discovery of Tshegofatso’s body hanging from a tree was a horror from which we are still struggling to recover as a nation.”

Ramaphosa

WHERE TSHEGOFATSHO’S BODY WAS DISCOVERED

Her bloodied body was discovered in Durban Deep in Roodepoort by passerby’s who then alerted the community and law enforcement.

“As we prepare to commemorate Women’s Month in August, gender-based violence remains the biggest obstacle to achieving real and meaningful gender equality in our country. We call on our law-enforcement authorities and the entire criminal justice system to act without fear or favour to ensure that victims of gender-based violence are protected, and that perpetrators are dealt with appropriately.”

Ramaphosa

Shoba, a former JSE employee began serving his long sentence yesterday. The judgement left a bit of relief to the Pule family as Shoba got the punishment that he so deserved.