JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED

Tshegofatso Pule's family say her murderer's conviction won't bring her back

- SIPHOKAZI ZAMA

RAIN drums on the roof of the home she grew up in and the family huddle in the lounge as water buckets down drainpipes and pools in the street.

It's fitting weather for the Pules – as if the heavens are also weeping for the beautiful young woman who was snatched from them when she had so much to live for.

Tshegofatso Pule, who was eight months pregnant, became another face of the horror of gender-based violence when her body was found hanging from a tree in June 2020.

In the nearly two years since her death, the family have seen two people convicted for her slaying: first the hitman, Muzikayise Malephane (31), and now the father of her unborn child, Ntuthuko Shoba (33).

Malephane, a self-confessed gangster, was sentenced in February 2021 to 20 years in prison. And recently Shoba, a former JSE analyst, was found guilty of masterminding her murder, paying Malephane R70 000 to kill her. He will be sentenced in May.

Tshegofatso's family, who have opened the door of their home in Meadowlands, Soweto, to YOU today, have mixed emotions about the verdict.

“It's hard to say we're happy about it - maybe 'satisfied' is the right word to use says Botlhale Modisane, the family spokesperson and a close friend who helped found the Tshegofatso Pule Foundation to support survivors of gender-based violence and help the families of victims.

"This journey has been full of turmoil but we always believed he would be found guilty," she adds.

Tshegofatso (28), an aspiring makeup artist, was raised in this house by her aunt, Joyce Pule after her mother died. She grew up alongside her cousins, Tshepang and Thabiso.

Joyce is home when YOU visits but she busies herself cooking in the kitchen, unable to speak because it's too painful.

Tshegofatso was a beloved daughter, sister, and cousin who wouldn't have hurt a fly, Tshepang says.