South African Lawyer Who Mourned Girlfriend Online Sentenced to Life for Her Murder

 

A South African attorney who publicly mourned his girlfriend on social media after her death has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering her and setting her body on fire inside her car.

Life Sentence in Johannesburg High Court

The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg sentenced Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, after finding him guilty of murder, malicious damage to property, and defeating the ends of justice.

Mpisi, who was 30 at the time of the crime, has been in custody since his arrest on July 28, 2023, after he abandoned his bail application.

How The Crime Was Discovered

The case dates back to March 9, 2023, when the charred remains of Mahlako Malebo Rabalao were discovered inside her Mercedes-Benz near her home in Midrand.

Rabalao, an IT specialist who was about to turn 27, was a mother to a three-year-old son she shared with Mpisi.

Investigators later traced Mpisi to KwaZulu-Natal, where he was arrested following a four-month investigation.

State Builds Case on Circumstantial Evidence

During trial, Senior State Advocate Michelle Bayat told the court that although medical experts could not determine the exact cause of death due to the extensive burning, the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that Rabalao had died before the fire was started.

NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Magaqa said the court accepted the State's case, which was built on circumstantial evidence including cellphone records, forensic evidence, expert testimony, and Mpisi's conduct before and after the incident.

Prosecutors argued that Mpisi killed Rabalao and then set her body and vehicle alight in a calculated attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the crime.

Relationship Was Ending

The court heard that Mpisi and Rabalao had been in an intimate relationship and were living together at the time.

Evidence presented showed Rabalao had confided in relatives and friends that she planned to end the relationship and move out of the apartment she shared with Mpisi. She was killed while making those plans.

Public Grief That Hid Guilt. 

Before his arrest, Mpisi had taken to social media to express shock and grief over Rabalao's death, posting tributes to the mother of his child even as investigators closed in on him as the prime suspect.