Student 'kept affair secret'

Lee-Anne Butler THE alleged affair between a Pretoria high school teacher and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) student he is accused of murdering was so secret that even her own sister was not aware of it, the Port Elizabeth High Court heard yesterday.

Kagiso Sithole yesterday testified that she had suspected that her younger sister, Tshepiso, 19, had been in a relationship with her former high school teacher, Mutshutshu Milton Muvhango, 31, but her sister had convinced her that this was not the case.

Muvhango, a married father of two, is charged with murdering Tshepiso and stealing her cellphone. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Kagiso said she last spoke to her sister on June 18 2011 and became concerned after repeated attempts to reach her failed. She was eventually told that her sister was with her boyfriend, Milton. She then tried to contact Muvhango via Facebook and his cellphone but he could also not be reached.

Tshepiso's body was eventually found a week later in her room by the owner of the Gomery Place student residence, Martin van Niekerk.

Van Niekerk testified that he had received a series of SMSs from her concerned father. He said because he did not know her real name, he did not realise it was her father trying to reach her.

Days later he eventually realised the man who had contacted him was "Promise's" father. He went up to her room, unlocked it and saw her body on the floor.

He asked his wife to call the police. The case continues today.