THE alleged killer of a teacher, Bafana Mahungela, admits his only crime was wearing the clothes of the victim Kirsten Kluyts.
Mahungela said this during his appearance in the Alexandra Magistrates Court, north of Joburg. He is accused of killing the Delta Park High School teacher during a road running event, MyRun in Sandton, in October. He was arrested in November.
It emerged in court that she was 14 weeks pregnant when she was killed.
The 21-year-old student appeared on the third day of his bail application and once more was in the dock being grilled by prosecutor Ayanda Bakana. During a startling revelation when defending himself, he insisted that he didn't rape or kill Kluyts.
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"I've never committed a crime before. When the police came to me and asked me, I could have still denied (killing her) but I did say I took the clothes. When they asked me to open my phone I didn't resist anything. They searched my room and I complied with everything," he said.
He insisted that he didn't rape or kill Kluyts.
"The only crime that I can agree to is that I did take the clothes," he said.
Bakana reminded him that it's a crime to defeat the ends of justice by removing her clothes and putting them in a drainage.
He responded to that by saying: "I'm not denying it, but I'm not a criminal and that's one thing that is for sure. We all make mistakes."
Mahungela reiterated that he initially approached her when he saw her body lying in a secluded area. He said he intended to help her but when he realised she was dead, he took her clothes off because he had touched her and didn't want his fingerprints or DNA to link him to the crime.
He also denied following Kluyts before she was found dead despite the CCTV footage showing him a few metres away before her death. When asked why he didn't inform the police, Mahungela argued he didn't want to get involved with the police.
In another turn of events, his father broke down in court. This comes after his mother suffered a heart attack upon hearing what her son was accused of. The bail hearing is expected to continue on Wednesday, 20 December.
