The Free State Provincial Commissioner, Lt General Thabang Lesia, welcomed the sentencing of the accused, following the seriousness of crimes against women and children in the community. The High Court sitting in Kroonstad finally sentenced Pule Abraham Tshabalala, of Ntha Township near Lindley, to double life imprisonment and five years for defeating the ends of justice, following the horrific murders of his girlfriend and her 18-month-old daughter, as well as defeating the ends of justice. The judgment was handed down on 27 August 2026.
On 31 December 2024, the Lindley police received information about a suspicious house in Ntha Township, near Lindley, where a foul smell was coming from inside, and flies had gathered around a window. It was further reported that the occupant, Pule Tshabalala, had not been sleeping at the house.
Police responded to the complaint at the address but initially found no one at the premises. They searched the surrounding area and later located Tshabalala standing at the gate of a nearby property. After obtaining permission to search the house, officers entered the premises and were immediately overwhelmed by a strong foul odour coming from a locked bathroom. The accused refused to open the door.
Police removed paper that had been used to cover the bathroom window and observed the decomposed bodies of an adult African female and a young child lying on the floor, covered with a blanket. Tshabalala was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged.
Investigators later traced the deceased woman’s family to Mamafubedu near Petrus Steyn. Her mother, Emily Mamoya Nkatlo, informed police that she had last seen her daughter approximately two weeks earlier when Tshabalala had invited her and her 18-month-old daughter to visit him.
Due to the advanced state of decomposition, the bodies could not be visually identified. DNA analysis later confirmed the identities of both deceased.
The case was investigated by Detective Sergeant Thabo Lepotho of the Free State Provincial Murder and Robbery Unit.
