Man accused of girlfriend’s murder remains in custody after abandoning bail

Murder accused Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi has abandoned his bail application.

Mpisi appeared in the Alexandra magistrate’s court on Tuesday accused of the murder of his girlfriend, Mahlako Malebo Rabalao.

Rabalao was killed and her body burnt beyond recognition. A relative previously told TimesLIVE the IT specialist was killed a few days before she planned to move out of the home she shared with Mpisi.

The case has been postponed for further investigations and for the DNA results of blood found in the couple’s shared Midrand apartment.

Mpisi will be back in court on September 22.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, Rabalao’s uncle, Klaas Rabalao, said he had mixed emotions about the bail abandonment.

“I do not understand court processes and I don’t know how to feel. As a family, all we want is for whoever killed our child to be sentenced to jail,” he said.

Klaas said the family was still in pain after having to bury his niece’s charred remains.

“It is the first time this has happened in our family. We have never seen something like that; we had to bury her remains. We have not healed, we are still in shock and far from healing. It is very hard,” he said.

Mpisi was arrested in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal in July, four months after police began investigations.

Spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo described the investigation as “thorough” and said it was led by a seasoned investigating officer.