President Ramaphosa welcomes sentencing in Tshegofatso Pule murder case

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the life sentence handed down to Ntuthuko Shoba for the premeditated murder of Tshegofatso Pule and her unborn child as "befitting, appropriate, and justice for the two innocent lives he took so cruelly." On Friday, the Gauteng High Court sentenced Shoba to life imprisonment for conspiring with a hitman in 2020 to kill his 28 year old girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant. In March 2022, Shoba was convicted of premeditated murder. "As a nation we welcome this sentence that sends the strongest of messages that perpetrators of violence against women and children will face the full might of the law," President Ramaphosa said. The President said the sentence should serve as a warning to those who conspire with others to commit acts of violence against women and children. "This was a crime of particular callousness, by a man who had made several attempts on the life of a woman who was carrying his child. The discovery of Tshegofatso's body hanging from a tree was a horror from which we are still struggling to recover as a nation," the President said. "As we prepare to commemorate Women's Month in August, gender-based violence remains the biggest obstacle to achieving real and meaningful gender equality in our country. We call on our law-enforcement authorities and the entire criminal justice system to act without fear or favour to ensure that victims of gender-based violence are protected, and that perpetrators are dealt with appropriately," President Ramaphosa said.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President on +27 82 835 6315
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

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