Alleged shooter’s bid to dodge murder conviction unsettles victim’s family – AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit steps in

The family of murdered husband and father Xolani Kunene has turned to AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit for help after an investigating officer and prosecutor allegedly tried to convince them to accept a plea deal. The offer would see the accused plead guilty to culpable homicide in exchange for no prison time. Buhle Lebohang Mabaso is accused of murdering Kunene outside a housing estate in Midrand in the early hours of 13 August 2022.

Nearly two years later, Kunene’s family has lost faith in both the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) ability to ensure justice for Kunene due to their persistent failure to provide any updates on the case’s progress. It is also unclear if critical evidence has been included in the docket. 

Surveillance footage of the incident depicts two men sitting in a car, as the driver produces a firearm and shoots his passenger several times. While the man lies motionless on the ground, the driver walks around the car and shoots the man again in the head before fleeing in the car. Kunene, a father of two, died at the scene. Mabaso was arrested hours later, allegedly trying to flee Gauteng. He was granted bail a week later.

Kunene’s wife, Nosipho Nombela, and his sister, Sindisiwe Mhlongo, say that during the course of the investigation, the investigating officer and prosecutor tried to convince them to accept Mabaso’s offer. The agreement would see Mabaso pay Kunene’s family R500 000 in compensation for Kunene’s death in exchange for a suspended sentence and a guilty plea on culpable homicide. They rejected the offer.

In April of last year, out of frustration at the lack of communication on the status of the case, Mhlongo approached several NPA officials, including a Gauteng deputy director of public prosecutions. Despite a commitment to provide feedback, that was the last she heard from the senior NPA official.

Mhlongo says she and her family have been left in the dark. “It concerns us that the accused is able to ask the investigating officer to invite us to discuss compensation. But the prosecution doesn’t respond to any of our emails and concerns as a family. We do not know what their strategy is.

“So, I approached AfriForum because they’ve built a good brand out there for standing up for South African citizens and they were literally the only people when I went public on social media who responded and gave us the ear and actually took the matter seriously even though my brother wasn’t famous,” she said.

Barry Bateman, the unit’s spokesperson, says prosecutors have a duty to provide updates to the families and loved ones of those affected by crime. “The failure of the NPA to properly communicate not only pays lip service to their strategy of being victim-focused, but creates the opportunity for their conduct to be questioned. Having seen the surveillance footage of the incident, we see murder as the only charge the accused should plead to. We will closely monitor the case and ensure that all the evidence, including the surveillance footage, is presented to the court,” said Bateman.

The matter was postponed to 29 July.