A South African attorney has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend and for burning her body in her car in Johannesburg.

The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg sentenced Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.

Mpisi was convicted of the murder of Mahlako Malebo Rabalao, as well as malicious damage to property and defeating the ends of justice.

Mpisi has been in custody since his arrest on July 28, 2023, after abandoning his bail application.

Rabalao’s charred remains were found in her Mercedes-Benz on March 9, 2023, near her home in Midrand.

NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Magaqa said that during the trial, Senior State Advocate Michelle Bayat argued that although medical experts could not determine the exact cause of death due to the extensive burning of the body, the evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that Rabalao had died before the fire was started.

The court accepted the State’s case, which relied on circumstantial evidence, including cellphone records, forensic evidence, expert testimony, and Mpisi’s conduct before and after the incident.

Prosecutors successfully argued that Mpisi murdered Rabalao before setting her body and vehicle alight in an attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the crime.

Evidence before the court also revealed that the pair had been in an intimate relationship.

Rabalao had reportedly told relatives and friends that she intended to end the relationship and move out of the home she shared with Mpisi before she was killed.

Rabalao, an IT specialist, was about to turn 27 when she was killed.

She was killed while making plans to move out of the apartment she shared with Mpisi.

Mpisi, who was 30 at the time, was arrested in KwaZulu-Natal after a four-month investigation.

Before his arrest, Mpisi took to social media to express his shock and grief over the death of the mother of his three-year-old son.

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