The man accused of murdering celebrity pastry chef Thembekile Letlape faces further charges after it emerged he had lied about his past.
Sibusiso Zitha remains in custody after his bail application date was postponed at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court this week. Zitha, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Letlape, made a brief appearance in court on Friday.
Letlape was the founder of The Pastry Princess, a bespoke patisserie that specialises in weddings and speciality cakes, desserts, high tea, confectioneries, and pastries. She was the daughter of leading ophthalmologist Dr Kgosi Letlape, a former president of the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
Zitha, 40, looked distressed when he made a brief appearance in court on Thursday. The case, which has been postponed several times since Zitha’s arrest, was postponed to June 21 as his legal representative was not available.
Letlape’s body was discovered at Zitha’s house in Fourways by her father who went to look for her after she had sent her mother a concerning text message.
Zitha was on the run but eventually handed himself over to the police and made his first appearance in court on June 3. He appeared again on June 7, the day Letlape was laid to rest. He was asked by the magistrate if he had any pending cases related to gender-based violence or protection orders against him.
The accused told the court that he had none. However, senior prosecutor Yusuf Baba revealed that Zitha had a pending warrant of arrest for assault and that assault charges would be added to the charge sheet. On Friday Baba told the court that the state added other additional charges to his charge sheet.
Zitha currently faces seven charges, which include murder, two counts of malicious damage to property, two counts of domestic violence, one count of perjury for lying to the court about pending cases, and failure to appear in court. The matter has been postponed to June 21 for the outcome of consultations and a possible bail application.
In a video circulating on social media shortly after his arrest, Zitha was seen in the vid, which trended on social media, saying: “It was a mistake, and that’s why I’m confessing. I’m eternally regretful and that’s why I’m confessing because I can’t take it back.”
Letlape’s family did not attend this week’s proceedings. Family spokesperson Sello Sethusa told Sunday World: “We will just monitor the developments from a distance and follow the ongoing investigations.
“We do not have much to say about the matter at this moment. We have also picked up that the state is adding charges which come from his past, but we cannot comment on that,” said Sethusa.
“We did not come to court this week because we were aware that investigations are still going on, so going to court knowing that the matter would be postponed would not make sense.”
Gender-based violence activists picketed outside court in orange t-shirts, demanding that Zitha not get bail.
South Africa has one of the highest incidences of gender-based violence and femicide in the world.
Statistics indicate that during the final three months of 2023, 285 children and 1 135 women were murdered, and 18 474 women and 2 281 children were violently assaulted.
In May, the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill, was signed into law in a bid to tackle the scourge.
