Lawyer Accused of Girlfriend’s Murder Had a Huge Following on TikTok, Followers Shocked: “I Cried With Him”

• A colleague of murdered Mahlaku Malebo Rabalao has expressed shock over Rabalao's boyfriend being linked to her brutal killing
• The colleague says they would never have suspected lawyer Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi of being involved in her murder
• South Africans who followed Mpisi on TikTok were stunned by the news because he posted seemingly sincere sad videos after her passing
• Briefly News spoke to a gender-based violence activist who weighed in on the behaviours of "unlikely" perpetrators

JOHANNESBURG - A colleague of IT specialist Mahlaku Malebo Rabalao has spoken out about the brutal killing of the 26-year-old young mother.

Rabalao was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi, a 30-year-old Joburg-based legal practitioner.

Mahlaku Malebo Rabalao's colleague surprised by her murder

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Speaking to TimesLIVE, Rabalao's co-worker was shocked after hearing that the young woman's partner was linked to her murder.

The co-worker, who did not want to be named, said Mpisi was around when people were looking for Rabalao, and she did not suspect he would be behind her murder.

Rabalao was reported missing on 7 March last year by her boyfriend. Her body was found in her Mercedes Benz on the same day engulfed in fire.

However, the police took two days to link the burning car victim and Rabalao's missing person case. The colleague said they were surprised when Rabalao did not arrive to work on 7 March and thought she had technical issues.

Rabalao's boyfriend also failed to alert her workplace about her disappearance and continued to send their child to school as normal.

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According to IOL, Mpisi has been remanded to custody and will appear in court again on 7 August.

Lawyer accused of killing his girlfriend was well-known on TikTok

After police identified Rabalao's body, Mpisi took to his social media accounts to post about her death.

On his TikTok, where he has 66.4k followers, the lawyer posted a video about the pain he felt losing her.

Here's what South Africans had to say about the lawyer being accused of his girlfriend's murder:

Miss-TikTok said:

"Haibo, I even cried on your behalf last month after seeing this posting on TikTok… Bathong Mr Mpisi Udlalile ngathi."

TyraMash said:

"I cried with him..."

Lira Lee said:

"My word, I was feeling so sorry for him all along. He looked shattered after his girlfriend's passing. Nare ontse yang abuti oo?"

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"Isn't he that guy from TikTok who always motivates people and talk positive things?"

Gender-based violence activist weighs in on the lawyer accused of his girlfriend's murder

Speaking exclusively to Briefly News, Jabulile Maseko, the founder and CEO of You Are Not Alone Women and Family Centre, explained that anyone can become a perpetrator of gender-based violence.

"The challenges to identifying a perpetrator of gender-based violence doesn't discriminate, it is like cancer, it can happen to anyone," said Maseko.

Maseko, who is also a social worker by profession, added that people need to realise that violence is not love. She explained that perpetrators can beat up a victim and be romantic the next day, which might make it challenging to identify the abuse.

"They will normalise violence as evidence of love while signs are there. Perpetrators have sweet tooth, they can beat you the next morning by buying you an expensive gift or flowers and apologise. They can blame you for their own actions," explained Maseko.

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The GBV activist said society and communities need to support such victims better instead of blaming them for the abuse. She also added that society needs more men that will protect women and not view them as punching bags.

KwaZulu-Natal learner who burnt deputy principal’s car goes on the run

In other news, Briefly News previously reported that a Grade 10 pupil who set fire to a deputy principal’s car is facing criminal charges, according to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.

The incident occurred at the Northbury Secondary School in Pietermaritzburg after the deputy principal allegedly confiscated the pupil’s cell phone.

Provincial Department Spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the deputy principal had opened a criminal case with the police. He said that disciplinary action would be taken against the pupil.

Source: Briefly News