A South African lawyer has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his girlfriend and allegedly setting her body and vehicle on fire in an attempt to conceal the crime. According to Daily Post, the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg convicted Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi on charges of murder, malicious injury to property, and defeating the administration of justice.
Prosecutors established that the victim, Mahlako Malebo Rabalao, was killed before her remains and her Mercedes-Benz were deliberately burned to destroy evidence. Rabalao, a 26-year-old IT specialist and mother of a three-year-old boy, had reportedly told relatives and friends she intended to end the relationship and move out of the apartment she shared with Mpisi before her death.
The conviction was secured through cellphone records, forensic findings, expert testimony, and evidence of Mpisi’s conduct before and after the incident. Following a four-month investigation, he was arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and has remained in custody since July 2023.
Before his arrest, Mpisi had publicly expressed grief over Rabalao’s death on social media, claiming to be shocked by the tragedy. However, the court found the evidence against him compelling and, on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Source: Daily Post
