THE wife who was convicted alongside her husband for murdering her lover in order to cash-in on insurance money by pretending it was her husband who had died, became emotional as she testified how she had to lie to family members about his death.
Lerato Mahlangu, 34, took the stand yesterday in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to testify in mitigation of sentence.
Sibusiso Mahlangu, 35, and Lerato from Soshanguve had been convicted of murder and fraud charges in November last year, for the murder of Lerato’s former partner Sibusiso Sithebe.
She told the court yesterday that she and the deceased, however, had an affair in January 2022, at the time of the murder. According to her, she had told her husband about the affair and he was very upset.
She and the deceased went out for lunch on the day of the incident and she said her husband then phoned her to tell her she had to bring the deceased home, so that he could have a “man to man talk” with the deceased.
Once at home, her husband told her to leave.
Lerato said when she returned home, she saw their house was engulfed in smoke.
She went to the bedroom and could only identify the wedding band her husband wore on the finger of the body on the bed and assumed it was her husband who had burnt to death.
After the funeral, she suddenly got a call at Old Mutual - where she worked. It was her husband who told her “I am back.” But he phoned her again and demanded to see her. They met at a mall and he told her “you see what you make me do”.
“He said I had to repay him for saving my life. He also demanded to see the children. I told him they believe he is dead, but he said I had to make a plan.”
The couple will be sentenced today.