I was good for Karabo, says her killer

“I DIDN’T kill her‚” convicted murderer Sandile Mantsoe said of his girlfriend‚ Karabo Mokoena‚ yesterday

Speaking to journalists at the high court in Johannesburg shortly after he was found guilty of beating and killing Mokoena, 22, and destroying her body‚ a composed Mantsoe said he had always wanted what was best for her.

“[Her family] knew the nature of our relationship. They knew that I was a positive influence in her life.

“All these things about homes and stuff. I inspired her to start those things.

“I was the one who was helping her set up NGOs. I have experience in setting up NGOs‚” Mantsoe said.

“I tried to be a positive influence in her life but it’s unfortunate that I came into her life at a point when things were really bad. Maybe I am guilty of trying to build a person and being the last one there when she collapsed. I tried my best to make the best of the opportunities.”

Mantsoe had seemed unfazed by the guilty verdict‚ showing a peace sign as he walked down from the dock to the holding cells.

He looked up and cupped his hands in a prayer-like gesture‚ ignoring the insults which were being hurled at him from the public gallery.

Acting judge Peet Johnson found that Mantsoe’s version that Mokoena had committed suicide was improbable and accused him of fabricating evidence which he hoped would swing the court proceedings in his favour.

The 28-year-old forex trader‚ a married father of three who is estranged from his wife‚ was arrested almost a year ago for the killing of Mokoena.

The pair had had an on-and-off relationship, which Mokoena’s friends and family testified was toxic. They accused Mantsoe of repeatedly assaulting Mokoena to the point that she spent her last birthday alive in hospital. She sent pictures of her bruised face to her friends.

Mantsoe, in turn, had painted Mokoena as an abusive lover‚ who was troubled by her past, and had a taste for the high life.

He had submitted that he had returned home on April 28 2017 and found that Mokoena had committed suicide by stabbing herself in the neck.

Mantsoe said he had feared that he would be blamed for her death and so decided to dispose of her body by drenching it in pool acid and petrol before setting it alight in a ditch in Lyndhurst. The charred‚ unrecognisable remains were found the next day by a passerby.

A postmortem failed to determine what had killed Mokoena as all her vital organs had been destroyed in the blaze.

Mantsoe will be sentenced today. – TimesLIVE