A South African lawyer, Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Mahlako Malebo Rabalao, whose burnt remains were discovered inside her Mercedes-Benz in Midrand, Johannesburg, in March 2023. The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg found Mpisi guilty of murder, malicious injury to property, and defeating the administration of justice. Prosecutors proved that Rabalao had been killed before her body and vehicle were set ablaze in an attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the crime. Before his arrest, Mpisi publicly mourned Rabalao on social media, expressing shock and grief over her death. On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the crime.