JUST IN: Shoba’s sentencing for Tshegofatso Pule’s murder postponed to July

The Johannesburg High Court has postponed sentencing proceedings in the Tshegofatso Pule murder trial to 28 July 2022.

The state and defence on Tuesday were expected to begin arguments in the sentencing proceedings against convicted killer Ntuthuko Shoba.

However, the defence requested a postponement because a pre-sentence report was incomplete.

Acting High Court Judge Stuart Wilson granted the deferment after the state and defence reached an agreement on the matter.

Judge Wilson said all the pre-sentencing reports should be ready by 28 July, adding that he would need a “fairly detailed explanation” if a further postponement is requested.

“Postponements of this nature in matters like this are not ideal, especially given what’s at stake for Mr Shoba and the other interested parties.

“So, I will expect the matter to proceed with the necessary documents on 28 July 2022,” Wilson said.

Shoba, 33, in March was found guilty of premeditated murder for orchestrating Pule’s gruesome murder in June 2020.

The 28-year-old beautician was eight months pregnant at the time of her death with Shoba’s child.

She was found stabbed and hanged from a tree in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg.

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It’s understood that Shoba, a former Johannesburg Stock Exchange analyst, hired self-confessed gunman Muzikayise Malephane to kill Pule because her pregnancy posed a threat to his relationship with another woman, who is thought to be his fiancée.

Malephane is currently serving 20 years in prison after being sentenced in February 2021.

In delivering his judgment, Judge Wilson found that the state proved beyond reasonable doubt that Shoba plotted to have Pule killed in 2020.

He said the evidence all pointed in one direction, that Shoba hired Muzikayise Malephane to kill Pule.

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