Gauteng police say the 32-year-old man arrested for allegedly being an accomplice in the murder of 28-year-old Tshegofatso Pule will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court west of Johannesburg on Monday. Police announced the arrest of the man on Friday.
The body of Pule, who was eight months pregnant, was found in an open veld in Roodepoort in June 2020.
Muzikayise Malephane pleaded guilty to killing Pule and received a 20-year jail term from the High Court in Johannesburg after entering into a plea agreement with the state.
Tshegfatso Pule’s murder accused pleads guilty:
Malephane’s lawyer told Pule’s boyfriend had hired his client to kill her and make it look like a suicide because he didn’t want his wife to find out that she was pregnant.
Gauteng police spokesperson Mathapelo Peters says the suspect was arrested at his place of residence.
“A 32-year-old suspect was arrested at his place of residence on Thursday evening, 18 February, in Florida on suspicion of being an accomplice in the murder of Tshegofatso Pule who was killed in June last year. The suspect is expected to appear in the Roodepoort magistrate’s court on Monday, the 22nd of February 2021.”
Family reeling
The family of Pule expressed shock and disappointment at the news that her boyfriend had allegedly conspired to kill her.
Pule’s uncle, Tumisang Katate, says the family is still reeling from her death.
“Our hearts are still heavy, we are still emotional. The planning and the execution of it, for what? How the prices went up it’s like they were at an auction for the killing of a person, it’s like the life of a person was being auctioned simply because you did not want your wife to find out that you have impregnated another woman outside. And this thing was simple. He was supposed to say he does not want anything to do with the baby. The baby could have been raised and there’s a lot of babies that were raised without fathers and they turned out okay.”
Tshegofatso Pule’s family expresses shock, disappointment at the revelation that her boyfriend allegedly orchestrated her murder:
