- The State called for Ntuthuko Shoba to be sentenced to life.
- The court heard that Shoba showed no remorse for his actions.
- Shoba will know his fate on Friday.
“This was a contract killing.”
The prosecutor, advocate Faghre Mohamed, uttered these words on Thursday when calling for convicted murderer Ntuthuko Shoba to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Shoba shook his head when Mohamed called for the prescribed minimum sentence to be imposed. Mohamed said that, throughout the trial, Shoba showed no sign of remorse. Even after his conviction, he didn’t show remorse, added Mohamed.
He said:
At no stage did he take responsibility for his actions. There is a prevalence of murders in this jurisdiction. Tshegofatso Pule falls under the group of the vulnerable in our population. She was pregnant.
“This was also borne by the WhatsApp messages. She had respect for him. Her murder was planned over a period of time,” said Mohamed.
READ | Tshegofatso Pule: Lawyer pleads with court not to give Ntuthuko Shoba a life sentence
“Shoba used an unregistered SIM card to contact Pule. He used Muzikayise Malephane as an Uber driver to convince Pule to ride in his car. This shows how calculating he was.
“Shoba played an active role (in her murder). On the day of the killing, he handed Pule over to Malephane to execute what they (the two men) agreed upon. Malephane later accepted responsibility for his actions. Shoba didn’t.”
Malephane wanted to give Pule’s family closure.
“If Shoba had thought about his actions, we would not be here. He initiated the entire execution of the murder. If he didn’t, we would not be having the death of Pule.”
“We only had a confession from Malephane. If we didn’t engage Malephane, Shoba would have been a free man. There are fundamental differences between their cases.
“He was persistent [which was] borne by evidence that the two men had initially intended to execute their offence at McDonald’s, and that did not deter Shoba,” Mohamed said.
No conscience
Mohamed said the pain Shoba caused to Pule’s family was detailed in court.
“It appears his conscience doesn’t bother him. A day after the offence, Shoba conducted his daily activities as if nothing had happened,” said Mohamed.
Mohamed requested that Acting Judge Stuart Wilson not to give any weight to Shoba consulting a psychologist because he was traumatised.
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“When the video, where Shoba handed Pule to Malephane, was played repeatedly during the trial, I observed that at no stage did he show any physical emotions.
“The State finds this uncomfortable. The appropriate sentence would be the minimum sentence, which is life imprisonment. This was a contract killing,” Mohamed concluded.
READ | Tshegofatso Pule: Police expert says Shoba’s phone number ‘mapped’ in same area as his second number
Defending Shoba, advocate Norman Makhubela argued that his client deserved a lenient sentence, instead of life imprisonment.
Makhubela said the State had relied on Malephane’s plea to convict Shoba.
He claimed that Malephane’s “false” confession was revealed during the trial.
Ntuthuko Shoba
Gallo Images Gallo Images
“There were two confessions made by Malephane. One was made after his arrest, the other during his guilty plea and sentence. The second one was not a confession, but a guilty plea statement.
“I plead to the court to deviate from sentencing Shoba to life imprisonment. It is expected that the court should strike a balance between the offender, offence and victim,” said Makhubela.
Background
Pule’s body was found hanging from a tree in Roodepoort’s Durban Deep on 4 June 2020.
Durban Deep resident Tshepo Bodibe was among the first people who discovered pregnant Pule’s body.
Bodibe then took to social media, to ask Pule’s family to visit a government mortuary where her body was kept.
Three days later, Pule’s body was positively identified by her family. Malephane was the first person to be arrested. In his initial court appearance, he revealed that he intended to plead guilty and then implicated Shoba as the mastermind behind the murder.
Her death sparked an outcry in the country. Malephane was sentenced to 20 years in jail.
Wilson is expected to sentence Shoba on Friday.
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