Parolee Mokhele Andries Thebehali, 33, has abandoned his bail application when he appeared before the Lichtenburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, accused of raping and murdering a 34-year-old woman in Bodibe village, North West.
“He is expected to re-appear in the same court on Wednesday, November 27 2024, for further investigation,” according to police spokesperson in North West, Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Funani.
Thebehali, who was on parole when the incident took place, was arrested at his home on September 19, after police investigations linked him to the heinous crime.
Naledi Masigo, went missing on June 29, after celebrating her birthday with her cousins at a tavern in Bodibe village.
The accused, who was the boyfriend of one of Masigo’s cousins, had offered to buy them meat for the celebration. According to North West police, he then suggested they go to another tavern. The cousins refused, but Thebehali then left with Masigo, according to eyewitnesses.
She was never seen alive again.
Her body was found by a truck driver in the bushes near a farm outside Lichtenburg on July 2.
Meanwhile, North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, has condemned the heinous crime, and thanked the Lichtenburg detectives and provincial anti-gang unit for their investigations that led to the arrest.
The latest crime statistics show that a rape is reported every 12 minutes in South Africa. Furthermore, 86 people are murdered each day.
In the most recent quarter, from April to June 2024, rape cases increased by 0.6%, from 9,252 to 9,309, versus the same period in 2023, according to Stats SA.
Last week 22-year-old serial rapist and murderer Sifiso Nasseb Mkhwanazi was handed six life imprisonment sentences for the multiple rapes and murders he committed.
IOL