Lawyer gets life for killing and burning partner in Midrand
A Johannesburg lawyer has been handed a life sentence for murdering the mother of his child and setting her body alight inside her car.
On Friday, the Johannesburg High Court sentenced 30-year-old Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi for the March 2023 killing of Mahlako Rabalao. Her charred remains were found in the front seat of her burning Mercedes-Benz in Midrand after police put out the fire.
Judge Gcina Malindi ruled that Rabalao was already dead when the blaze was started. Forensic experts found petrol on the driver’s carpet of the diesel vehicle and concluded the fire was deliberately lit with an open flame. Cellphone data further placed Mpisi at the scene, undermining his claim that she had left home alone that evening.
He also received concurrent five-year terms for malicious damage to property and defeating the ends of justice. The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the sentence, describing it as a firm stand against gender-based violence.
Mpisi, who shared a young son with Rabalao, was arrested in KwaZulu-Natal four months after the murder. In the days following her death he had publicly mourned her online, posting a tribute that portrayed a happy family life.
The case has drawn attention as another grim example of intimate-partner violence in South Africa.