BREAKING | Bafana Mahungela found guilty of murdering pregnant Sandton teacher Kirsten Kluyts - IOL

Bafana Mahungela has been found guilty of murdering pregnant teacher Kirsten Kluyts, robbery, attempted rape and defeating justice.

The Johannesburg High Court has found Bafana Mahungela guilty on all charges stemming from the 2023 murder of pregnant Sandton teacher Kirsten Kluyts.

Mahungela was convicted of murder, robbery, defeating the ends of justice and attempted rape.

Judge Ian Cox handed down the judgment on Friday after the court previously reserved judgment in the trial.

The matter has been postponed to October 27 for sentencing arguments.

Kluyts, a teacher at Delta Park High School, was killed on October 29, 2023, while taking part in a local athletic event in Sandton.

Her body was later discovered dumped along a jogging path in George Lea Park.

Kluyts was pregnant at the time of her death.

Mahungela, who was 23 at the time of his arrest, was arrested in November 2023 at a student residence in Parkmore.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

The State had accused him of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder and attempted rape.

Investigators relied, among other evidence, on surveillance footage showing Mahungela wearing a black T-shirt and trousers before the killing.

He was later captured on camera leaving the vicinity of the crime scene, wearing a blue T-shirt that investigators identified as the same one Kluyts had been wearing earlier that morning.

He was also seen carrying a black item in his left hand.

Mahungela previously admitted to undressing Kluyts and leaving her body naked in the bushes.

He claimed he had removed her clothes only to remove fingerprints after attempting to “help” her.

Kluyts' clothes were later recovered from a nearby drain.

A post-mortem examination found that Kluyts died from blunt-force head trauma and strangulation.

The State said the fatal assault lasted approximately eight minutes.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole previously said the court had partially delivered its judgment before postponing the matter to September 11, 2026.

Mohlatlole said that, with all the evidence and submissions before the court, the case had entered its final stage, with judgment expected the following week.

The court has now found Mahungela guilty on all the charges against him.

The case will return to court on October 27 for sentencing arguments, after which the court will determine the sentences for the offences.

Mahungela had maintained his plea of not guilty throughout the trial.