Bafana Mahungela Found Guilty in Kirsten Kluyts Murder Case
Bafana Mahungela has been found guilty in the Kirsten Kluyts murder case, bringing a major turn in one of Gauteng’s most closely watched criminal trials.
The court convicted Mahungela on the main charges he faced after finding that the State had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The matter has now been postponed to 27 October 2026 for sentencing proceedings.
The judgment centred heavily on circumstantial evidence, particularly CCTV footage, forensic image analysis, facial comparison evidence, witness identification and the recovery of exhibits.
The State argued that the evidence, when viewed cumulatively and not in isolation, established that Mahungela was the person seen in various CCTV recordings and that the only reasonable inference was that he was responsible for the offences.
According to the judgment, the State relied on CCTV footage, the evidence concerning its collection and preservation, forensic analysis by Warrant Officer Frans Ndlovu, facial comparison evidence by Captain Catherine de Boort and witnesses who identified Mahungela as the person appearing in the footage.
Mahungela, who appeared in person, disputed the reliability of the identification evidence and the conclusions the State sought to draw from the CCTV footage.
He challenged the quality of the footage, the facial comparison evidence, the chain of custody, camera timestamp discrepancies and the absence of forensic evidence directly linking him to exhibits recovered during the investigation.
The court, however, found that the CCTV footage had been properly authenticated and preserved. It held that the recordings were reliable and could safely be used in determining Mahungela’s guilt.
The judgment found that the same distinguishing features appeared repeatedly across different CCTV systems, including a bucket hat with a distinctive square emblem, black trousers, footwear, body build, gait and what appeared to be a band-like tattoo on the right upper arm.
The court also found that the accused’s version was a “bare denial” and rejected it as false.
In its findings, the court held that Kirsten Kluyts had been kidnapped after being forced from the MyRun route into thick vegetation. It further found that she was murdered, robbed with aggravating circumstances and that the evidence supported a finding of attempted rape.
The court also found that items belonging to the deceased had been removed and concealed in a stormwater drain, conduct which it found was aimed at obstructing the course of justice.
Mahungela asked the court about his rights after conviction, raising concerns about representing himself during the trial. The court explained that the next stage would be sentencing and that he would be entitled to instruct a legal team for that phase.
The matter was postponed to 27 October 2026 for sentencing.
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