By Ado Oyeyemi
A South African High Court has sentenced a lawyer, Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi, to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Mahlako Malebo Rabalao, whose burnt remains were discovered inside her Mercedes-Benz in Midrand, Johannesburg.
The South Gauteng High Court convicted Mpisi of murder, malicious damage to property and defeating the administration of justice after prosecutors established that he killed the 26-year-old before setting her body and vehicle ablaze in a failed attempt to conceal the crime.
Investigators relied on forensic evidence, cellphone records, expert testimony and the convict’s conduct before and after the incident to secure the conviction.
Rabalao, an information technology specialist and mother of a three-year-old boy, had reportedly informed relatives and close friends that she intended to end her relationship with Mpisi and move out of the apartment they shared before she was killed.
Following a four-month investigation, detectives tracked down and arrested Mpisi in KwaZulu-Natal in July 2023. He remained in custody throughout his trial.
The court also heard that before his arrest, the lawyer publicly expressed grief over Rabalao’s death on social media, claiming to be devastated by the incident.
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Delivering judgment on Tuesday, the court sentenced Mpisi to life imprisonment, bringing to a close a case that drew widespread public attention in South Africa due to its disturbing circumstances and the attempt to destroy evidence.
