3 years after Kirsten Kluyts was killed, the court has decided
JOHANNESBURG — Bafana Mahungela has been found guilty of murdering pregnant Sandton teacher Kirsten Kluyts, bringing one of Johannesburg’s closely watched murder trials to the sentencing stage almost three years after she was killed while attending a running event.
The Johannesburg High Court on Friday convicted Mahungela of murder, robbery, attempted rape and defeating the ends of justice. Judge Ian Cox postponed the case to 27 October for sentencing arguments.
Kluyts, a teacher at Delta Park High School, was killed on 29 October 2023 while participating in an athletic event in Sandton. Her body was discovered along a jogging path in George Lea Park. She was pregnant at the time.
Mahungela, who was 23 when he was arrested at a student residence in Parkmore in November 2023, pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
Surveillance footage became an important part of the State’s case.
Investigators presented footage showing Mahungela wearing a black T shirt and trousers before the killing. He was later captured leaving the area wearing a blue T shirt that investigators identified as the same shirt Kluyts had been wearing earlier that morning.
The court also heard that Mahungela admitted removing Kluyts’ clothing and leaving her naked in bushes, but claimed he did so to remove fingerprints after attempting to help her. Her clothing was subsequently recovered from a nearby drain.
A post mortem examination determined that Kluyts died from blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation. The State told the court that the fatal assault lasted approximately eight minutes.
The guilty verdict follows a lengthy trial in which the State relied on surveillance footage, forensic evidence and witness testimony to reconstruct Kluyts’ final movements and connect Mahungela to the crime.
The case had previously been postponed after the court partially delivered judgment, with the final decision scheduled for Friday.
That judgment has now resolved the question of Mahungela’s criminal liability. The next stage will determine the punishment he receives for the four offences.
Mahungela will return to the Johannesburg High Court on 27 October, when the prosecution and defence are expected to present arguments relevant to sentencing before the court determines his sentence.
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