MURDERED WOMAN FEARED FOR HER LIFE
ONE of the two businesswomen who were killed execution style in Limpopo at the weekend had been living in fear following an attempted car hijacking.
Construction and property businesswoman Tebogo Mphuti (35) and her friend Makoena Mabusela-Leshabane (46), a senior aviation finance consultant at Investec, were shot and killed in a suspected hit while they were about to view a warehouse for rental in Polokwane on Saturday.
Mphuti’s lawyer, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, told Sowetan that two months ago she had escaped a hijacking in Midrand after being followed by an unknown vehicle.
The lawyer said he suspected the killing was a “hit” because Mphuti was shot several times while her friend was shot once in the upper body. Police said they could not rule out a hit being the motive for the women’s killing.
“She called me and said she was nearly hijacked but I didn’t pay attention to details. I had advised her to call the police. Since the incident happened she became anxious and was no longer interested in driving herself around. During lockdown level 3 she was also followed twice by an unknown vehicle in Midrand,” said the lawyer.
“She would call friends or use an e-hailing vehicle if she wanted to go somewhere because she felt her life was under threat.”
Mphuti’s mother, Mpho Mathabathe, said her daughter had told her that she would be going to Polokwane on Friday.
“She said I should come at her house in Waterfall, Midrand, and take care of her children as she was travelling to Polokwane with her friend and they would be back on Saturday. I was shocked when I got a call that my daughter has been killed in Polokwane,” she said.
Mathabathe said Mphuti and Mabusela-Leshabane were close friends and doing property business together.
Leshabane family spokesperson Thabo Leshabane said the family was still shocked and did not know what the motive for her killing was.
“We are meeting the police this afternoon, maybe we will hear something,” he said.
According to the women’s friend, Mabusela - Leshabane had just bought a black Mercedez Benz two weeks before she was killed.
Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said the two women were shot dead at point-blank range by three unknown suspects. CCTV footage captured the getaway car leaving the scene of the shooting.
“The fourth suspect was waiting in a getaway car, a red Hyundai sedan with Gauteng registration numbers. Three suspects, two armed with firearms, accosted the two women seated in their motor vehicle and started shooting at them and killing them instantly,” Mojapelo said.