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Convicted murderer Lerato Mahlangu has told a court how she and her husband spent over half-a-million-rand they fraudulently claimed from insurance after killing her ex-boyfriend.
At the time of the murder on January 1 2022, she was cheating on her husband with the ex-boyfriend, Sibusiso Sithebe. She and her husband Sibusiso Mahlangu later hatched a plan to murder Sithebe and claim from insurance.
Testifying in mitigation of sentence at the Pretoria high court, South Africa yesterday, Lerato said she shared the R575,000 with her husband, who later bought a car with the money.
Lerato had passed off the charred body of Sithebe – who was also the father of her child – as that of her husband Mahlangu, then claimed insurance money.
“I opened an account under one of his daughters’ names and then took my share. I then gave him a card with R150,000.”
“He told me that he needed to buy a new car and that he saw it online at a Pretoria dealership. We went there and purchased the car for R200,000.”
“The car was registered under my name because I used my licence. After two months, it appeared like he had run out of money,” she said.
She, however, did not disclose how the rest of the money was spent. After the murder, Mahlangu went into hiding as everyone assumed the person who was found burnt to death in their Soshanguve house was him.
Lerato testified that a month later, Mahlangu called her demanding more money from insurance and that he wanted to see his children.
Despite Lerato’s protestation that the children believed Mahlangu was dead, she relented and allowed him to see them.
According to Lerato, Mahlangu told the children that the person who died in the fire was the one who wanted to kill him.
“He also told them that he was hiding because there were people who wanted to attack him,” she explained.
Lerato also admitted she was the one who lured her ex-boyfriend to her matrimonial home where he was killed.
She apologised to Sithebe’s family: “I am remorseful, if I didn’t cheat with Sithebe he wouldn’t have died, and I wouldn’t be here. I ask for forgiveness from his family, but there is nothing I can do now to bring him back,” she said.
Sentencing continues today. (SowetanLIVE)
Online Reporter