WATCH: Alleged murder mastermind in Tshego’s case further implicates the triggerman
In the statement read out by Shoba’s defence, new developments were put on record which Shoba claimed had surfaced in prison after being denied bail on 5 March.
Having been denied bail after failing to prove exception circumstances, Ntuthuko Shoba, 32, the alleged mastermind behind Tshegofatso Pule’s murder appealed the decision on Thursday, 25 March by presenting ‘new facts’ to bolster his new bail application.
Shoba, who faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and defeating the ends of justice, had new legal counsel who presented the new information in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court, which distanced him from the murder, and sought to further implicate the convicted triggerman Muzikayise Malephane.
Also read: Alleged murder mastermind to be formally charged
In the statement read out by Shoba’s defence, new developments were put on record which Shoba claimed had surfaced in prison after being denied bail on 5 March.
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He cited that he started opening up to some cell mates in the Krugersdorp Correctional Facility about his incarceration, and the detainee he was kept with had interest in the matter which he found to be similar to that of another prisoner (Malephane) whom he claimed to have confessed to murdering his girlfriend (Tshego) following an argument.
In an affidavit also read out in court, Shoba’s cellmate, who had allegedly befriended Malephane in prison, shared his interactions with him, which included the confession to the murder and relationship.
“I encountered this new unknown male after exiting my cell which was next to mine, I immediately stopped and greeted him and we eventually started walking to the commune. As it is common to ask new faces why they are being incarcerated, he said it was for murder but didn’t share many details. However, due to further interactions he later informed me about details of the case, which was the murder of his girlfriend,” the detainee’s statement read.
“He later informed that between the 4 and 5 June 2020 he picked up his girlfriend from a residence in Florida and along the way he confronted his girlfriend about where he picked her up and then an argument ensued. He further informed me that the argument escalated to the pregnancy and he asked her whether their unborn baby was his. He further explained to me that he always doubted that the baby was his. He further told me that he lost his temper and killed his girlfriend and dumped her body in the veld in the Durban Deep Mines,” the statement read.
After submitting this shocking ‘twist’ of events in relation to Malephane’s story who claimed to have been hired by Shoba for R70 000 to execute the murder, Magistrate Delize Smith warned that the new information presented in court would be used against the accused and he could not later change the statement and deny what was inked on the affidavit.
As the State had no objections to this new information, Smith then postponed the matter to 6 April for another formal bail application.
Reflecting on the proceedings, family spokesperson and Tshego’s uncle Tumisang Katake dismissed the new facts, saying that as a family they anticipated such. “It’s a joke and we are not here to play games. We need to shy away from trying to paint women as being sluts or as being people who are forever unfaithful. First and foremost, the married person in this affair was him; the person who cheated on his wife was him. Tshegofatso was not married nor in a stable relationship with another guy,” Katake rubbished the entire statement.
