Bafana Mahungela was found guilty on all charges for the 2023 murder of pregnant teacher Kirsten Kluyts, the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ruled on 11 September 2026, News24 reported. The 23-year-old student was convicted of murder, attempted rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and defeating the ends of justice.
“This conviction brings a measure of justice for a crime that shocked the nation and highlighted the ongoing scourge of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in South Africa,” anti-GBV organisation #NotInMyName International said in a statement sent to Cape Flats News at 14:30 on Thursday.
Kluyts, a 34-year-old teacher at Delta Park High School, was 14 weeks pregnant when she was killed during a park run at George Lea Park in Sandton on 29 October 2023, according to IOL and SABC News. A post-mortem showed she died from blunt force head trauma and strangulation.
CCTV footage placed Mahungela entering the park 90 seconds after Kluyts began her second lap, wearing a black shirt, and later leaving in Kluyts’s blue T-shirt, News24 detailed. Judge Ian Cox described her death as “gruesome” and “violent” while handing down the verdict, The Bulrushes reported.
Mahungela, who had fired his Legal Aid lawyer and represented himself, maintained his innocence. After the verdict, he made a partial statement to EWN: “After this whole process of the charges, I’m not sure that I want to stand for myself because during the trial, I was standing for myself under…”
The case has been postponed to 27 October 2026 for sentencing arguments. #NotInMyName urged the court to impose the maximum sentence, stating: “Anything less would betray the memory of Kirsten Kluyts and undermine the fight against GBVF in South Africa.
Further reporting on the sentencing phase will follow when the hearing resumes.