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'I put petrol on her and walked away' - court hears in Karabo Mokoena murder trial

Sandile Mantsoe, who is on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Karabo Mokoena, told police officers that he wanted to do the right thing by pointing out where he had set her body alight.

This was the evidence of Colonel Andre de Klerk in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

De Klerk, who accompanied Mantsoe to the pointing out, told the court that the accused appeared calm, relaxed and co-operative.

Reading out his notes on Wednesday, De Klerk quoted Mantsoe saying: "I just want to tell the truth and show what happened… I removed, dumped and burnt Karabo's body."

Mantsoe pointed out the scene willingly and confirmed that no one forced him to do so, De Klerk said.

READ: Judge dismisses Sandile Mantsoe's claim that cop tried to bribe him to drop charges

The court heard that Mantsoe told him that he found Mokoena dead at his Sandton apartment around 17:00 to 18:00 on April 28, 2017.

He then went to the garage and bought petrol. He also went to his mother's place in Bramley to get tyres and pool acid. He added that no one had seen him.

"I was there. I [removed] the body from my apartment. I put a tyre around her and burnt her.

"I put petrol on her and walked away," he said.

The State also called pathologist Malerato Ramela, who conducted a post-mortem on Mokoena.

She told the court that a large part of Mokoena's body was absent and that she couldn't tell whether Mokoena was alive or dead at the time that she was set alight.

Mantsoe previously painted Mokoena as a violent person who was "addicted" to the high life.

READ: Karabo Mokoena's ex-lover tells court: 'She was violent and addicted to the high life'

In a statement read out in court last week, Mantsoe claimed Mokoena used to beat him up and that she had become angry and depressed after she was raped by a friend of one of her former lovers.

He also alleged that Mokoena used to cut herself, and that her sister had witnessed it. At one point, he found her on the floor with a box of sleeping pills. He said a security guard who worked at the apartment witnessed the incident.

But the security guard disputed this and testified that he had only helped Mantsoe access his apartment after he forgot his access card inside.

Sergeant Pule Kotelo from the Sandton police said that he had gone through the apartment's occurrence book but that there was no recording of the incident.  

Mantsoe faces charges of premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice.

READ: Police officer tells court about the day Karabo Mokoena's body was found

He has also been charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, for allegedly assaulting Mokoena on March 27, 2017.

He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Mantsoe, a married father of three, had reportedly been in a romantic relationship with Mokoena since October 2016. It is believed that he and his wife were estranged.

The accused has denied killing Mokoena but, during his bail application, he said he disposed of her body after he came home and found that she had committed suicide.

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