Africa-Press – South-Africa. Ntuthuko Shoba should be jailed for life for killing Tshegofatso Pule, her uncle believes.
He was speaking after Shoba’s sentencing proceedings in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg were delayed on Tuesday due to an incomplete pre-sentencing report – a development that a friend described as “a dagger” to the chest.
Acting judge Stuart Wilson postponed the matter to 28 July.
“I expect the matter to proceed with necessary documents on the set new date and if there is a need for postponement, that I be provided with a fairly detailed explanation,” he said.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the court proceedings had to be halted to give Shoba an opportunity to prepare a report in mitigation of Shoba’s sentence.
Shoba was found guilty in March of the 2020 murder of Pule and their unborn baby.
Speaking outside the court, the uncle, Tumisang Katake, said the family was being denied an opportunity to heal.
“[Our] family is being denied a chance at closure, but we just have to give [Shoba] a chance to conduct his thorough pre-sentencing interviews and [allow time for] the reports to be completed.”
Katake called for a life imprisonment sentence and added:
Family friend Bothale Modisane expressed the family’s disappointment at the delay.
“It feels like a dagger [to the chest] that is pushed deep down.
“We have been in and out of court. The longer this continues, the longer we are being denied the chance to start grieving,” she said.
Modisane added that the lengthy trial had taken its toll on the family, and that Pule’s aunt had been admitted to hospital frequently.
Tshegofatso Pule’s killer Ntuthuko Shoba has sentencing postponed for two months
“This is the same aunt who raised Tshegofatso because she grew up without her parents because they had died.”
Modisane is also a member of the Tshegofatso Pule Foundation and said its aim was to become a pillar of strength for victims of gender-based violence and their families.
“We don’t want Tshegofatso’s name to be remembered [as] the girl who was killed at [the age of] 28 whilst eight months pregnant and hanging on a tree.”
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