The sister of Sibusiso Sithebe — the man who was left in a burning house in Soshanguve and his body used to allegedly fake the death of Sibusiso Mahlangu — said her brother had only consumed two beers that day and had likely been given more alcohol by the accused so he could not evade the fire.
His alleged killers, Sibusiso Mahlangu and his wife Lerato Mahlangu, have been appearing at the Pretoria high court this week as they face a murder charge and three counts of fraud. Sithebe was the ex-lover of Lerato, and the two have a child together.
Linah Sithebe recalled her last interactions with her brother.
“I spoke to him on December 31 2021 and he wasn’t drunk. He called again just before midnight and I asked why he was feeling down and he said he misses our parents,” Sithebe told TimesLIVE Premium, adding their parents had died.
“On January 1 he had one Savanna and his partner said she bought him two Black Label quarts — he drank one, took the other and left. At around 6pm, when she called him, he told his partner that he hadn’t opened the second quart of beer.
“You might find that they [the accused] gave him alcohol so that he is too intoxicated to escape the fire. When my brother is drunk, he sleeps. I know that about him.”
Sithebe's body was found in the Mahlangu couple's home after a blaze. Lerato subsequently claimed more than R500,000 in life cover, claiming it was her husband, Sibusiso Mahlangu, whose remains were found in the house.
During the trial, pathologist Dr Rebecca Mashiya testified that Sithebe was still alive when his body was set alight and had a high concentration of liquor in his system.
Linah revealed that her brother had lived in the same house that he was killed in when he was still in a relationship with Lerato.
“I knew her when they were together. She was fine and appeared to be a good person and someone who appeared to want a future with my brother. But I wasn’t surprised when they broke up because they had started fighting a lot,” Linah said.
“My brother liked to go out to drink with friends, which they often fought about. My brother actually lived with her in that house that he was burnt in. When they broke up, he moved out and later [Sibusiso] Mahlangu [who subsequently married Lerato] moved in.”
For a year the Sithebe family were looking for their son, unaware that he was already dead. He had been buried by Sibusiso Mahlangu's family, who thought it was their son who had died in the blaze.
I hope for a life sentence without parole. Lerato does not show remorse. Instead, in court she tells her family that she wants to do her hair and nails as if everything is normal
— Linah Sithebe
Linah said during that period when her brother was missing, she dreamt of him being with their late mother, who he had said he missed terribly the day before he died. That is when she suspected her brother was not alive, she said.
Her suspicions were confirmed in April 2023, when the officer investigating his disappearance met her to break the news.
“He said he doesn’t know what happened but that they found Mahlangu and there is a possibility that the person they [the Mahlangu family] buried is my brother,” she said.
“I asked how he knew. He said he wanted to show me pictures. Once he showed me [pictures of the burnt body], I saw the face. I could see that this is my brother. I saw his feet and I could recognise they were his.
“I asked what happened and I was told my brother was killed for money.
“We had to exhume his body and do DNA tests. They took DNA from his child with Lerato and from one of our siblings and my brother’s T-shirt. Three months later it came back positive.”
Linah said she hopes for a harsh sentence as she believes Lerato showed no remorse for taking her brother’s life.
“I hope for a life sentence without parole. Lerato does not show remorse. Instead, in court she tells her family that she wants to do her hair and nails as if everything is normal.
“They took away someone we won’t get back. Life was good when my brother was around, and we have lost him — and our parents. It hurts. My brother’s life was worth several hundred thousand rand.
“I also miss my niece — his child. She lives near me, but she doesn’t visit any more.”
The child is in the care of Lerato's family while she remains behind bars.
The couple's cover was blown last year when Sibusiso Mahlangu was stopped at a roadblock in Hammanskraal and arrested for driving a stolen vehicle. It was then that Lerato called his family to let them know he had been detained at Temba police station and they required money for him to be released.
However, on Wednesday afternoon through her lawyer Lerato alleged she and Sithebe were having an affair. She claimed she was meant to have seen Sithebe on the day he died but instead headed back to KwaMhlanga where she had secured a job at Old Mutual.
She claimed to have ended things with Sithebe, telling him her husband was growing suspicious about them.
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