Guilty verdict for Ntuthuko Shoba in murder of Tshegofatso Pule

The Johannesburg high court has found former JSE analyst Ntuthuko Shoba guilty of the murder of his pregnant girlfriend Tshegofatso Pule.

Acting judge Stuart Wilson said the evidence of Muzikayise Malephane, the man who confessed to killing Pule on Shoba's instructions, had to be treated with caution as he was a single witness. However, the court accepted that Shoba had communicated  with Malephane via an 081 number and rejected Shoba's contention that he had only met Malephane to buy cigarettes.

Wilson cleared Shoba on a charge of obstruction of justice.

“In my view, there is no basis on which I can convict Shoba on obstruction,” he said.

During the trial, the court was shown video footage of Pule and Shoba walking from his home to a vehicle that was driven by Malephane, who confessed to murdering Pule in June 2020.

Malephane is serving a 20-year sentence for Pule’s murder. He became the state's key witness and detailed how he and Shoba had planned the murder.

The eight-months pregnant Pule was found dead in Durban Deep. She had a gunshot wound to the chest and her bloodied body was found hanging on a tree. Her unborn baby did not survive.

This is a developing story.

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