Ntuthuko Shoba, the alleged mastermind behind the brutal murder of Tshegofatso Pule, appeared in court, on Thursday, in another attempt to get his bail application approved.
Ntuthuko Shoba painted as deadbeat in WhatsApp texts
The former JSE analyst, clad in a black two-piece, sat in the dock while state prosecutor Paseka Temeka detailed the scale of neglect Pule faced as Shoba’s lover.
The court heard, for the first time, that in the couple’s affair, the 28-year-old murder victim had aborted her first pregnancy with Shoba.
The second time around, Pule’s experience, according to WhatsApp text messages that were read out in court, was worse. For the most part, Shoba didn’t appear interested in assisting the 28-year-old.
He dodged doctor appointments, pushed Pule further away at a time when she needed him the most, and went as far as mining feelings of self-loathe in the soon-to-be mom.
To say her pregnancy experience was nightmarish is a gross understatement, considering that a month before she was due to deliver their baby, her mutilated body was found hanging from a tree.
“I know you don’t want this child but I was not going to live with myself gore [sic] I aborted a child ka three months [sic]. I’m not that evil … I just felt God was going to punish me for doing that. And to think it was not my first time doing it.
“Sorry for ruining your plans of life — I did not mean to,” Pule wrote in one message, seemingly justifying herself for practising her right to keep her baby.
According to the State, Pule’s constant tugging at Shoba to take responsibility for their baby may have driven the 32-year-old to plan for her murder.
Shoba points the finger at Malephane
Temeka told the court that the evidence points to the fact that Shoba felt the need to deal with Pule and a baby he didn’t want before his wife and family found out about it.
Shoba, on the other hand, has vehemently denied having anything to do with Pule’s death. In his version of events, Muzikayise Malephane, the man who pleaded guilty for committing the murder, is solely responsible for killing Pule.
The matter has been postponed and Shoba will learn of the outcome of his bail application on Monday 26 April 2021.