The trial of Bafana Mahungela, the former Varsity College student accused of murdering a teacher and then removing his T-shirt and wearing the deceased’s shirt, is expected to resume on Tuesday.
Mahungela, who has been in custody since his arrest in November 2023, was charged for the brutal killing of Delta Park high school teacher Kirsten Kluyts, whose body was found in a park in Sandton on October 29 2023. He faces charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery and attempted rape.
The matter is expected to resume at the Johannesburg high court sitting at Palm Ridge magistrates’ court.
The case was postponed last week due to the unavailability of the presiding officer. This follows 22-year-old Mahungela’s attempts to secure bail while awaiting trial, which have also hit a dead end.
The Alexandra magistrate’s court dismissed his bid to apply for bail based on “new facts” after ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. The court sided with the state, which had argued under Section 60(1)(b) that the application could only be entertained by the high court.
According to the state, an unknown blunt object was used to kill 35-year-old Kluyts, who was jogging at the time of her murder. Mahungela has denied bail, having knowledge of what happened to Kluyts. He said he had stumbled upon the body, and when he realised that Kluyts was dead – a white person and a woman – he wanted nothing tying him to the murder, given the scourge of gender-based violence. He said he took her clothes to get rid of his fingerprints.
Sowetan