‘Mastermind’ to apply for bail

CASE: EIGHT-MONTH PREGNANT LOVER’S MURDER

The man accused of masterminding the death of slain motherto-be Tshegofatso Pule will apply for bail next week.

Ntuthuko Shoba, who is understood to be the father of Pule’s unborn baby, briefly appeared in the dock of the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court yesterday, following his arrest on Friday.

His case was postponed to next week for a bail application.

Pule was found dead in Durban Deep last June. The 28-yearold had been shot in the chest and hanged from a tree. She was eight months pregnant at the time.

Last week, Muzikayise Malephane pleaded guilty to shooting her and hanging her afterwards, but said he was a hired hand and Shoba had offered him R70 000 to kill her.

In his plea, Malephane said Shoba was married and didn’t want his wife to find out about his relationship with Pule.

He said the plan was to make it look as though she had committed suicide.

In addition to murder, Malephane also pleaded guilty to defeating the administration of justice, as well as illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, in accordance with a deal he struck with the state, which is also expected see him testify against Shoba in court.

Speaking outside court yesterday, Pule’s uncle, Tumisang Katake, said her loved ones were still struggling to come to terms with her death. “The family is in tatters,” he said.

He said seeing Shoba in the dock had “opened up old wounds that were just beginning to heal”. Katake said the family had known about the relationship between Pule and Shoba, but they had not known that he was married.