Bernadette Wicks 26 June 2024 | 4:55

Murder and insurance fraud-accused couple from Soshanguve due back in court

The trial got underway at the beginning of June and ran for three weeks before it was adjourned last week Friday.

Murder and insurance fraud-accused couple from Soshanguve due back in court

Murder and insurance fraud accused Sibusiso and Lerato Mahlangu appear in the Pretoria High Court on 13 June 2024. Picture: Jacques Nelles/EWN

JOHANNESBURG - Murder and insurance fraud accused Sibusiso and Lerato Mahlangu are set to return to the dock of the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.

The Soshanguve couple, who have been likened to Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magudumana as a result of the similarities in their cases, stand accused of burning Lerato’s ex to death in January 2022 and passing the remains off as Sibsuso’s.

This was part of an elaborate plot to cash in his death and funeral benefits, which unravelled after police pulled over a suspected stolen vehicle in Hammanskraal last April and found Sibusiso behind the wheel.

The trial got underway at the beginning of June and ran for three weeks before it was adjourned last week Friday.

It resumes on Wednesday when the State is expected to call its last witness before closing its case.

Wednesday’s witness is expected to be an official from Capitec and to testify about the payment of the death and funeral benefits into Lerato Mahlangu’s account.

It’s expected the matter will then be postponed again for the defence to present its case.

Both accused have pleaded not guilty and are expected to take the stand.

Who else their legal teams intend on calling, though, remains to be seen.