The Alexandra Magistrate’s Court has denied bail to Bafana Mahungela for raping and murdering Johannesburg teacher Kirsten Kluyts
Magistrate Syta Prinsloo determined that the defense failed to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances for release, which is required in a Schedule 6 case.
“After thorough consideration, taking into account the applicant’s version and the evidence tendered by the state, the court finds the applicant has not discharged the onus of proving any exceptional circumstances that would, in the interest of justice, permit his release on bail. Therefore, the applicant’s application for bail has been denied
Magistrate Syta Prinsloo
Bafana Mahungela pleads not guilty
While Mahungela pled innocent since he did not depart after the incident, Prinsloo stated that he most likely remained in Gauteng because he assumed evidence linking him to the crime had been destroyed.
Kluyts, who was 14 weeks pregnant with a baby boy at the time of her brutal murder on 29 October, was attacked at George Lea Park in Parkmore, Johannesburg, after she took part in the MyRun event.Fellow runners discovered the naked body of the 34-year-old.
Post-mortem results show Kluyts was assaulted with a blunt weapon before being suffocated and strangled. Her alleged killer was apprehended at his student apartment on November 26 after police got video footage from CCTV cameras near Parkmore.
