Man confesses to girlfriend’s murder 20 years later after ‘being haunted by her spirit’

A Soshanguve man, who strangled his girlfriend and then burnt and chopped up her body more than 21 years ago, was sentenced to life imprisonment this week for her murder.

Collings Lucky Maduane, 52, was sentenced in the Pretoria high court for murdering his girlfriend, Florah Mahlo, 25, in 1999.

Maduane was 31 years old when he murdered Mahlo.

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On 3 September 1999, neighbours heard screams from Mahlo’s place where the couple was staying at the time, according to national prosecuting authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.

When neighbours later spoke to Maduane, they asked him about the screams and Mahlo’s whereabouts.

Maduane told them that she was visiting relatives in Johannesburg, when he had actually strangled her until to death earlier in the day.

“He then dragged her to a nearby bush where he burnt her body,” said Mahanjana.

“The following day, he went to where he burnt the body and discovered that it was not completely burnt. He then decided to chop the body into two halves. Maduane chopped the bottom part and threw it in the nearby drain. He then buried the remaining parts.”

In 2007, while Maduane was serving a 12-year sentence for attempted murder in another case at the Baviaanspoort maximum security prison, he asked to meet with Mahlo’s mother for him to confess.

At the time, Maduane claimed he was being haunted by her spirit.

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He, however, changed his mind.

“When he was about to confess, he claimed he received a call from an unknown source telling him not to do anything.

“In June 2019, a fight broke out between Maduane and his niece and his sister was called. When the sister arrived, she found that he was still very emotional and uncontrollably angry. The sister then called a friend and when the friend arrived, she asked why he was always fighting. He asked them to switch off their phones before he spoke,” said Mahanjana.

“The sister pretended to switch off her phone and recorded everything. He told them that he was stressed because since Mahlo died that she was troubling him.

Mahanjana said Maduane then confessed to the crime and wanted to take them to where he killed her.

“After pointing out the spot and confessing to the friend and the sister, he asked to meet with Mahlo’s mother to confess to her as well. When the mother arrived the following day, he confessed to her as well. He was then arrested a few days later.”

The NPA has welcomed the sentence.

This article was republished from Rekord East with permission 

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