Killer couple’s sentencing on hold

Convicted killer couple, Lerato and Sibusiso Mahlangu, will have to wait another two weeks before learning their fate. 

Their pre-sentencing hearing in the high court in Pretoria was postponed until the 12th of next month due to the absence of Lerato’s legal counsel. 

The couple were found guilty in November for murdering Lerato’s lover, Sibusiso Sithebe, and using his body to cash in on insurance. They were also convicted of conspiracy to commit the murder, and fraud.

At the time of the crime, Lerato was cheating on her husband with her ex-partner, Sibusiso Sithebe. The pair then hatched a plan to murder Sithebe and claim from insurance, with Sibusiso faking his own death. 

Lerato detailed to the court how she and her husband shared the money, blowing R150 000 on a new car, as Mahlangu spent over a year in hiding. 

Another large sum was put into a savings account for Lerato and Sithebe’s 12-year-old daughter – whose been placed under the care of her grandmother following the murder of her father and her mother’s subsequent arrest. 

In April 2023, the couple’s scheme was uncovered when police at a roadblock discovered that Mahlangu had been registered as a deceased.

Lerato has also told the court that she had lured Sithebe to his death, out of fear that her husband would kill her if she didn’t comply.

However, the Sithebes have rejected the claim as untrue.

Xolani Sithebe believes she helped plan the gruesome attack.

“It’s only an animal that can kill the father of their child,” he said.

Xolani insists more people are behind his brother’s death and is calling for further investigations.

Accused number two in the matter, Lerato, was expected to take to the witness box in an attempt to convince the court on why she should not spend life behind bars. 

Should the court not be convinced, the couple’s parole officers could be granted their wish for the two to spend life in prison.