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The boyfriend of a young pregnant woman in South Africa, whose macabre murder sparked widespread protests in the country against violence against women, was found guilty today by a court in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Ntuthuko Ntokozo Shoba is accused of planning the murder of 28-year-old Tshegofatso Pule and paying for the murder gang.<\/p>\n
The body of the pregnant cloud was found hanging from a tree two years ago, with multiple stab wounds.<\/p>\n
Last week a Johannesburg court sentenced another man, Mzikayise Malephane, to 20 years in prison after admitting to killing Ms Pule.<\/p>\n
Under the indictment, 31-year-old Malephane said he had been offered 7,000 South African rand ($ 500) by Shoba to commit the murder but he had refused. The offer was then raised to 70,000 rand, when he too had accepted.<\/p>\n
Malephane told the court that the victim’s boyfriend Shoba “did not want his wife to learn about the child expected by the victim”.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors arrested Shoba just last week, on charges of murder, complicity in murder and obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old, handcuffed from his hands and feet, wore a black suit and white shirt in his first appearance before the court.<\/p>\n
Ms. Pule’s uncle, Tumisang Katake, said that when he saw Shoba in court, “the wounds that had begun to heal reopened.”<\/p>\n
He added that the family knew that Pule was dating Shoba, but did not know “what kind of relationship they had”.<\/p>\n
On June 5, 2019, the Chicken body was found hanging from a tree in the Roodepoort area, in an act that sparked widespread outrage and protest, in one of the countries with the highest rate of violence and murder of women.<\/p>\n
In a response, President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a statement condemning violence against women saying the pandemic had made life more difficult for women.<\/p>\n
After a series of feminists last year, President Ramaphosa said South Africa was “one of the safest places in the world to be a woman.”<\/p>\n
The next Shoba trial is scheduled for March 1.<\/p>\n
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