"ALL this time, we were fixing our cars at Pakiso Makhanya's workshop, not knowing he was plotting to kill my child."
This was said by grieving mum Tseleng Mofokeng, whose daughter, a teacher at Riverside High School in the Vaal, was tragically killed.
On Monday morning, 22 April, the Vereeniging Regional Magistrates Court, presided over by Magistrate Chris Kruger, postponed the bail argument hearing for Dr Tumelo Ntholeng and three co-accused.
Their lawyers requested additional time to review the affidavits that opposed granting bail to their clients.
Ntholeng and his co-accused face charges of conspiracy to commit murder and the murder of Ntholeng's ex-wife, Palesa Mofokeng.
Outside the court, Palesa’s mum shared her pain. She said she particularly distressed to discover that their family mechanic, accused number four and the cousin of her daughter’s ex-husband, was allegedly the mastermind behind her daughter’s murder.
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Mofokeng recounted how the accused, always ready to assist Palesa with car troubles, was secretly plotting against her.
"He was fixing her car all the time. We didn't know that he was plotting to kill my daughter. My daughter trusted Makhanya and never suspected he would plan something so painful," she said.
Mofokeng also revealed the extent of their trust in the accused, who had knowledge of Palesa's whereabouts and could have endangered the entire family.
Seeking closure, she attends court hearings, grappling with the void left by her daughter.
Palesa's child, deeply affected by the loss, struggles with her mother's absence, posing challenging questions and yearning for her mother's presence.
Tseleng said she hopes for a severe sentence for the accused, wishing for them to spend their lives in prison.
Palesa (33) was shot more than eight times on her way to work on Friday, 5 April. Her ex-husband and three other men were arrested later that day for her murder.
Despite pleading not guilty and fighting for their freedom, bail was denied after revelations that the murder had been planned since the previous September, with the ex-husband allegedly paying R70 000 for the crime, and attempting to claim life insurance following Palesa's death.
