Ntuthuko Shoba’s involvement in Pule’s murder in 2020 unfortunately took the lives of Tshegofatso Pule and her unborn child, according to SABC news. Shoba’s court session, where he will be sentenced, started this morning.
Pule’s body was discovered with numerous gunshot wounds hanging from a tree in Roodepoort in 2020. She was eight months pregnant, but neither she nor the baby survived. Pule was just 28 years old at the time.
There was widespread outcry over her murder. This is due to the fact that it demonstrated how horrifying gender-based violence is in South Africa.
One of the highest femicide rates in the world is said to occur in South Africa. One woman is killed every three hours, according to estimates.
In judicial proceedings that took place last year, Muzikayise Malephane confessed to killing Pule. He acknowledged that Shoba had given him the order to kill Pule. Shoba’s motivations, according to Malephane, were based on greed. He acknowledged that Soba had paid him R70,000 to deliver the attack.
Malephane was given a sentence of 20 years, which he is presently completing. In 2020, Shoba was found guilty of premeditated murder by the court. Due to an incomplete pre-sentencing report, his proceedings in June were postponed.
According to the most recent SABC News reporting, Shoba’s defense lawyer, Norman Makhubele, requested that the court not sentence Shoba to life in prison. Makhubele pointed out that the assassin Malephane was not also given a life sentence.
The family and friends of Pule believe that anything less than a life sentence would be an injustice, according to eNCA.
They still have good memories of Pule. In an interview with eNCA, Pule’s aunt Neo Giwu described her niece as follows:
“She was a happy child and bubbly. A child who loves fashion…She was not [the] child who will come to you and say you know, ‘I have a problem.’ Even if she was in pain, she would still smile.”