The Late Jogger Kirsten Kluytes’s Bafana Mahungela Murderer Found Guilty on All Charges
The Johannesburg High Court has found 23-year-old Bafana Mahungela guilty on all charges, including the murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and attempted rape of Sandton school teacher Kirsten Kluytes.
The landmark ruling by Judge Ian Cox concludes a heavily followed trial that spans nearly three years since the brutal October 2023 attack.
Following the conviction, the matter has been officially postponed to 27 October for sentencing arguments.
Kluyts, a 34-year-old teacher at Delta Park High School who was 14 weeks pregnant at the time, was attacked on 29 October 2023.
She had been participating in a local community sporting event at George Lea Park in Parkmore, Sandton, when she was forced off the running track into a secluded bushy area.
post-mortem analysis later revealed that Kluyts died from a combination of strangulation and blunt-force head injuries.
Medical and investigative evidence presented by the State indicated that the fatal assault lasted roughly eight minutes, with the investigating officer describing the injuries as among the most severe she had ever witnessed.
Throughout the trial, Mahungela maintained a plea of not guilty to all counts. While he previously admitted to coming across Kluyts’ body, moving her, and undressing her, he strictly denied killing her.
He further alleged that a surveillance clip showing him wearing a shirt identical to Kluyts’ was a case of mistaken identity.
However, State prosecutors built a formidable circumstantial case relying heavily on digital footprints. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage placed Mahungela at George Lea Park immediately before and after the timeframe of the attack.
Crucially, the video captured him leaving the park dressed in the unique blue t-shirt Kluyts had worn during the race.
The State successfully argued that Mahungela took deliberate steps to eliminate evidence and cover up the crime by disposing of the teacher’s clothes.
The ruling brings closure to a trial that faced several procedural snags, representation changes, and consecutive bail denials since Mahungela’s arrest in November 2023.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which expressed confidence in its evidence throughout.
