The man accused of the brutal murder of Tshegofatso Pule, Ntuthuko Shoba, was scheduled for sentencing on Tuesday.
Why was Ntuthuko Shoba sentencing postponed?
However, per Sunday World, the matter was postponed to 28 July 2022 to allow time for Shoba’s defence to submit its pre-sentencing report.
After weeks of testimony, the former JSE analyst was found guilty of masterminding the death of his then-girlfriend, all in a bid to get away with the responsibility of fathering a child outside of wedlock.
Much of the state’s case relied heavily on the evidence provided by the man who executed the hit, Muzikayise Malephane.
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Malephane, following his guilty plea that reduced his sentence to 20 years imprisonment, took the stand against Shoba and detailed the sordid plans he pitched to the hitman.
The court heard about the multiple attempts Shoba had made to get Pule killed, and how he relied heavily on an old friend, Malephane, to get it done for R70 000.
While Pule was roped into believing her lover, Shoba, had every intention of raising their child together, the former analyst, the court heard, was not prepared to introduce a newborn from an extramarital relationship.
Therefore, on 4 June 2020, Shoba managed to convince a hesitant Malephane to pick up Pule from his apartment complex on Westlake Road, in Florida, that evening and execute the hit.
Malephane admitted in court that he was the one who picked up Pule in a Jeep and drove to Noordgesig, where he shot and killed the mom-to-be.
Then, he went to Durban Deep to hang her on a tree, before making it home.
The gravity of the murder, the premedidation and victim impact statements will weigh heavily on the judge’s conscience when he delivers the verdict at the Johannesburg High Court, late in July 2022.
