A Soshanguve woman convicted of murder to claim insurance, Lerato Mahlangu, claims her husband, Sbusiso Mahlangu, was abusive and had threatened to kill her if she refused to become his accomplice. The couple was found guilty of orchestrating the murder of Sbusiso Sithebe, her ex-lover and the father of her child by setting him alight and staging the scene to cover their tracks.

Lerato then falsely identified the body as that of her husband and claimed R570,000 in life insurance.

Mahlangu is testifying in mitigation of sentence at the High Court in Pretoria.

Lerato’s testimony follows that of her husband, Sbusiso, who, after two years of legal proceedings and denying the crime, finally confessed to killing his wife’s ex-lover. She told the court that her husband became abusive after learning of her affair with the deceased.

She also claimed he was emotionally abusive and, at one point during their marriage, coerced her into terminating a pregnancy.

“When we got home, he told me he had spoken to the person who gave him the pill and was instructed to take another dose. After taking those pills, I told him I was going to lie down. When I woke up, I was dizzy, that’s when he took me to the hospital,” she says.

The former insurance company consultant further testified that she received threats from her husband a few weeks after the murder. She claimed he called her workplace and demanded to meet with her, and warned she would suffer the same fate as the father of her child if she revealed the truth.

“He told me he didn’t want to play games with me and that I knew what had happened. He said if I wanted to follow the father of my child, I should continue playing games. He told me to come outside, and we met at Phola Mall, where he asked about the money,” she adds.

Meanwhile, the family of the late Sithebe has rejected Lerato’s claims that she was also a victim as well as her husband’s apology.

The matter will continue on Thursday.