Tshegofasto Pule

Photo: Jacaranda FM / Twitter

Tshegofatso Pule: Boyfriend arrested, Malephane pleads guilty to murder

The NPA said Muzikayise Malephane will be turning state witness with regards to the Tshegofatso Pule murder case.

Tshegofasto Pule

Photo: Jacaranda FM / Twitter

There are some new developments to report regarding the Tshegofatso Pule case. On Friday 19 February 2021, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Muzikayise Malephane pleaded guilty to her murder and thereafter entered into a plea and sentencing agreement. 

Tshegofatso Pule was found stabbed and hanging from a tree in Roodeport, Gauteng in June 2020. She was also eight-months pregnant at the time of her death and was laid to rest in Soweto in the same week. Her death sparked an outcry from the community and pushed government to prioritise the issue of gender-based violence (GBV). 

MUZIKAYISE MALEPHANE PLEADS GUILTY TO MURDER 

Muzikayise Malephane pleaded guilty to four charges in relation to the murder of Tshegofatso Pule in the Johannesburg High Court on Friday morning. He entered into a Plea and Sentence Agreement with the State (Sec 105 (A)(1) of the CPA), the NPA said. 

“Malephane pointed out that the boyfriend of the deceased, who cannot be named at this point, as the one who allegedly contracted him to commit the murder,” it said. 

He will now be turning State witness. The court confirmed the agreement on the condition that he testifies in the state’s case against the boyfriend. 

“The boyfriend has been arrested and is currently in police custody,” the NPA added. 

Reports indicate that the boyfriend didn’t want his wife to find out that Pule was pregnant. It also said she was shot first and then later hung. 

THE FAMILY DESERVE THE TRUTH

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), in a statement, said it would continue to monitor the case as a second arrest has been made.

“This demonstrates that the murderer was not alone and in fact conspired with someone very intimate to the deceased, Tshegofatso Pule,” it said.

“The Pule family deserves to know the full truth of the brutal murder of their daughter. Tshegofatso was murdered, whilst she was eight months pregnant and hanging on a tree; some display by what seems like the work of a psychopathological killer,” it added.

The EFF said this single case demonstrated that justice is possible when the SAPS do their job. They added that it will go a long way to inspire confidence in a country at the brink of despondency when it comes to GBV.

TSHEGOFATSO PULE: ‘ONLY A COWARD KILLS A WOMAN’ 

EFF member Mbuyiseni Ndlozi attended the funeral of Tshegofatso Pule in Soweto and held white flowers in his hands while making a speech. 

“Death is not ordinary. What has happened is a serious tragedy. What have women done in this country? What have they done to men? Men in South Africa have declared war on women,” he said. 

Ndlozi said women, including Tshegofatso Pule, have done nothing wrong and so needn’t apologise for anything.  

“You must never apologise for being a woman. Only a coward beats a woman, only a coward kills a woman, only a coward rapes a woman,” he added.