'Daydreamer, anime fan & impulsive': A closer look at Kirsten Kluyts' alleged murderer Bafana Mahungela

“I hope this is not true. Whatever is going on with Bafana, I hope it is not true ... I’m not saying he is guilty or innocent, but as a friend, I pray this is not true.”

These are the words of a friend of Bafana Mahungela, the 21-year-old student who stands accused of murdering schoolteacher Kirsten Kluyts.

Her body was found on a path near the Sandton Sports Club when people searched for her after she failed to finish the MyRun event in Parkmore. A month later Mahungela was arrested after CCTV footage showed him wearing her T-shirt and disposing of her clothes in a drain pipe.

Mahungela's friend, who prefers to remain anonymous, said they were shocked when they found out Mahungela was allegedly involved in something of this nature. They were friends at Steelcrest high school in Middelburg from grade 8 to matric.

“Bafana was always a daydreamer — he would just stare off into space,” they said. “He played rugby and enjoyed watching animations — like anime. He was funny but some people didn't always get his humour,” the friend said.

The friend said most of Mahungela's former school friends couldn't believe what was happening.

“Our peers and people from the school who knew him are all speaking about the case. Some are divided on what they think of his actions — some believe there is no way he could [have] done these things they are saying he did, but others think he could because he could be impulsive.”

When asked what they meant by impulsive, the friend said Mahungela would say a “serious thing” out of the blue but make it a joke, using his “arrogant smirk” to get a shock out of the audience.

“I’ve been watching some of his testimony and the way he speaks — with that arrogant smirk — is just the way he is, he has always had that. And I thought this would not be a good thing for him as people will think he is trying to be funny on the stand when in truth he has always acted like that.”

Mahungela's multiple social media accounts show him smoking a hookah pipe, posing with friends and anime characters.

One post from 2016 — on an account that bares his name and a photo of a younger looking Mahungela — reveals some questionable memes. One of the memes says to get a girl to go home with you, you should use your looks, money and, if that doesn't work, then chloroform.

His friend doesn’t believe this is a red flag, however, as this was his “impulsive style of behaviour”.

Mahungela will spend Christmas behind bars after a three-day bail application hearing which saw him take the stand to give his version of how he stumbled across Kluyts’ body on his way back to his residence. He says he turned her over and when he realised she was dead, removed her clothes, put on her blue top, and walked to a nearby drain where he disposed of her clothes before returning to his accommodation. He said he was afraid that his fingerprints on her clothes would lead police to believe he was responsible for her death. 

However, the prosecution revealed that CCTV footage captured Mahungela arriving at the park one minute after Kluyts. Her phone was found on the path 10 minutes later.

His bail judgment will be delivered next week.

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