Murder accused Sandile Mantsoe appeared in the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg for his trial on 16 April in a packed courtroom.
Mantsoe is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Karabo Mokoena and dumping her body in a shallow grave in Lyndhurst before setting her alight on 28 April. Mantsoe faces charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice.
Read: #RIPKarabo: Grieving father talks about Karabo’s death
Stephanie Leong, a close friend of the slain Mokoena, took the stand and testified that the couple had an unhealthy relationship before her death last year.
Leong told the court that the two had challenges in their relationship including assaults that Mokoena allegedly endured from her ex-boyfriend.
She painted a picture of Mantsoe as abusive, saying he once beat Karabo so severely that she was hospitalised. “On the day before Karabo’s birthday [27 April] Karabo called me to their apartment in Sandton Sky where she had already packed her bags, [ready to leave] the accused,” said Leong.
The two went to Soweto to Icon’s Place and, to their surprise, the accused was also there and they left together. Leong added that Mokoena seemed reluctant. They drove back to Sandton Sky and a fight between the two ensued in the parking lot where the accused is said to have pushed Karabo so hard that she fell and hit her head on the ground.
“The next day I tried to call her but her phone was off and the accused phoned me later, at around 6pm, saying he wants to organise a special celebration for her. But now I was confused because Mantsoe had told Mokoena he does not want her any longer and now he wanted to organise a special celebration for her,” she told the court.
He saw Mokoena again on 30 March, after which she had injuries on her body and a bloodshot on her eye, Leong testified. She said the friends checked in to Capital Empire Hostel, and the next day, Mokoena’s family, mother, sister and a cousin fetched her and took her home. She stayed at home for a while but Mantsoe later fetched her. The family never spoke to her again.
Read: An emotional send-off for Karabo
“I bumped into the accused in Rosebank and asked him but he said he did not know… he even assisted in searching for her.
“On 10 May, together with the family and the Diepkloof police, we went to Mantsoe’s apartment and, in the control room, we watched footage that showed Karabo entering with the accused.” She said Mokoena never came out.
The footage shows Mantsoe going in and out of the apartment dressed in different outfits. It also shows him pulling a rubbish bin into the apartment, then taking it out after a while.
They then waited for Mantsoe to return home. “Eventually, when he came home at around 9pm, we entered the apartment and looked around.” She said it looked different.
Read: LIVE TWEETS: Karabo Mokoena is laid to rest
“The carpet was wet and when we checked under the carpet there were blood stains,” she testified. Mantsoe was arrested and taken for questioning at the Morningside Police Station in Sandton, where the court was told he confessed. However, Mantsoe has since pleaded not guilty.
The case is set to continue on 17 April in the South Gauteng High Court.
Details: www.npa.co.za
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