Johannesburg - The man said to have orchestrated the death of Tshegofatso Pule is apparently fearing for his life in custody.
This is according to his lawyer, Luyanda Nyangiwa, who on Monday detailed to the court how his client’s life was in danger.
Ntuthuko Shoba, 32, who appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court for his bail application, was given a chance to prove why it was in the best interests of justice to grant him bail.
His lawyer argued that exposing Shoba to Muzikayise Malephane – who pleaded guilty to the murder and entered into a plea agreement with the State – might compromise his safety.
The lawyer said threats were made to his client in the corridors of the prison where Shoba was held.
Nyangiwa requested that Shoba’s home address and employment not be revealed in court.
In an affidavit read by his lawyer, Shoba said he was not a flight risk as he was unmarried and had no minor children.
He added that he had a stable address and was willing to give his passport to police.
This was in counter-argument to the State opposing his bail, stating that his release might lead to witnesses being afraid to testify.
Shoba said he did not know the witnesses except for Malephane.
Shoba’s lawyer argued that he was more at risk when in custody than outside, and that Shoba had received threatening voice notes from Malephane.
“My submission is that the applicant is more at risk in custody than he would be if released on bail, the reason being all the voice notes we have gathered are threats. My client fears the longer he stays in prison, the more his life would be at risk,” he said.
Shoba, who was the late Pule’s boyfriend and father of the unborn child she was carrying, faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and defeating the ends of justice.
Shoba was arrested last week after murderer Malephane, who is the first accused, in a plea agreement with the State, said he had been hired and paid by Shoba to kill Pule.
Shoba was implicated in the murder after Malephane told the State that Shoba paid him R70 000 to kill Pule because Shoba was afraid his wife would find out about Pule’s pregnancy.
Malephane said in the plan to lure Pule to Shoba, he collected her from Shoba’s house posing as an e-hailing service driver. He then proceeded to shoot and hang her from a tree.
While Malephane is serving his 20-year sentence, he is expected to testify against Shoba when the trial starts.
Pule was murdered last year in June. She was found with stab wounds in her chest and hanging from a tree in Roodepoort Durban Deep.
She was eight months pregnant. Shoba will appear in court on Friday for his bail verdict.
The Star