Image for illustration purposes only
A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his female friend following a violent domestic assault in Barberton.
Sibusiso Lucky Mahlalela was sentenced by the Mbombela Division High Court on 29 January 2026 for the murder of Pretty Fikile Mokone. The incident occurred during the early hours of 11 August 2024 at Sinqobile Village in Barberton, where the couple lived together.
Court proceedings revealed that the pair had been returning from a tavern when an argument broke out after Mokone accused Mahlalela of infidelity. During the confrontation, Mahlalela assaulted her repeatedly with a wooden plank. Despite Mokone complaining of severe headaches and planning to seek medical attention, she collapsed while on her way to a nearby clinic.
Image: Sibusiso Lucky Mahlalela (45)
Mahlalela later concealed Mokone’s body in nearby bushes and only reported the matter to police the following day. He subsequently confessed to the assault. The case was investigated by Detective Sergeant Standford Gumede of the South African Police Service.
Although Mahlalela pleaded not guilty and claimed he had no intention to kill Mokone, the court rejected his version of events. The State presented photographic evidence and post-mortem findings confirming that Mokone died from multiple injuries sustained during the assault.
When handing down the sentence, the judge said there is growing public anger over gender-based violence and femicide, and that society expects courts to act firmly in such cases. The judge found no strong reasons to reduce the sentence and therefore imposed life imprisonment, as required by law.
Mahlalela was also declared unfit to possess a firearm, and his application for leave to appeal was dismissed.
Information and images supplied by the Office of the Provincial Commissioner in Mpumalanga.