Mantsoe guilty of murdering his girlfriend Karabo Mokoena

SANDILE Mantsoe was found guilty yesterday of murdering his girlfriend‚ Karabo Mokoena‚ and disposing of her body, burning it beyond recognition.

He was further found guilty of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm related to an assault that put Mokoena in hospital on her birthday last year.

Delivering judgment at the High Court in Johannesburg‚ acting judge Peet Johnson said if Mokoena had indeed committed suicide as alleged by Mantsoe‚ there would have been no reason for him to conceal that.

“There was nothing to be afraid of because everyone would see what he saw and get to the same conclusion that he did. He made no alarm or told anyone that she committed suicide which would be the first thing that any sound person would have done‚” Johnson said.

Mokoena’s charred remains were found in a ditch in Lyndhurst on April 29 2017.

Despite pleading not guilty to all the charges‚ Mantsoe had admitted to dousing her body with petrol and pool acid before setting it alight.

He had claimed that Mokoena had committed suicide at his lavish Sandton Skye apartment by stabbing herself in the neck.

The 28-year-old forex trader is a married father of three who‚ at the time of his relationship with Mokoena‚ was estranged from his wife.