Bafana Mahungela was found guilty on all charges in the murder of pregnant Sandton teacher Kirsten Kluyts, with Judge Ian Cox handing down the verdict at the Johannesburg High Court on Friday, 11 September 2026.
Mahungela, 23, was convicted of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder, attempted rape and defeating the ends of justice, according to the National Prosecuting Authority.
He had pleaded not guilty to every charge throughout the trial, which stretched back nearly three years to Kluyts’ death.
How the Bafana Mahungela verdict came down
The court had reserved judgment after both the state and the defence closed their cases, with all evidence and legal arguments before it.
Judge Cox partially delivered his findings at an earlier sitting before returning on Friday to hand down the final verdict, convicting Mahungela on every count he faced.
The matter has been postponed to 27 October 2026 for sentencing arguments, when the court will determine the punishment for each of the offences. Mahungela remains in custody as the case moves into its sentencing phase.
What happened to Kirsten Kluyts
Kluyts, a 24-year-old English teacher at Delta Park High School, was killed on 29 October 2023 while taking part in a MyRun athletic event at George Lea Park in Parkmore, Sandton. She was 14 weeks pregnant at the time.
Footage showed her starting her third lap of the running track shortly before 08:00, wearing a blue T-shirt, black ski pants, running shoes, sunglasses and a cap, and carrying her phone, earphones and a watch.
Minutes later her phone was found abandoned near the track, and her naked body was discovered in a ditch next to a wall in a secluded area off the path.
A post-mortem found she died from blunt-force head trauma and strangulation, with the state arguing the fatal assault lasted about eight minutes. A medical report found no injuries to the genital area, which became a point of contention in the attempted rape charge.
How Mahungela was identified and arrested
Mahungela, then a 21-year-old student at a Sandton institution, was arrested on 26 November 2023 at a student residence in Parkmore after police obtained CCTV footage placing him at the scene. The footage reportedly showed him leaving wearing Kluyts’ blue T-shirt.
He admitted during the trial to undressing Kluyts and leaving her body exposed in the bushes, telling the court he did so to remove his fingerprints after he said he had tried to help her. Her clothing, including the T-shirt, ski pants, cap and shoes, was later recovered from a nearby drain, along with other items robbed from her including her earphones, watch and sunglasses.
What the prosecution argued
The National Prosecuting Authority maintained confidence in its case throughout the proceedings. Spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said, once all evidence and submissions were before the court, that the matter had entered its final stage with judgment expected imminently.
The defence contested the full set of charges despite Mahungela’s admissions regarding the clothing and his presence at the scene, arguing his account did not support convictions on kidnapping, robbery, murder and attempted rape. The court rejected that position, convicting him on every charge.
What happens next
Sentencing arguments are set down for 27 October 2026, when the state and defence will make submissions on the appropriate punishment before Judge Cox determines the sentence. The case, which drew sustained public attention over the killing of a pregnant schoolteacher, now moves to that final phase.
