A South African lawyer, Thubelihle Sbonakaliso Mpisi, who is accused of killing his girlfriend and burning her body, has opted to represent himself at his pretrial court hearing.

Mpisi has been without legal representation since March after Paul T Leisher & Associates withdrew their services due to lack of funds.

He appeared in the Johannesburg high court on Wednesday, informing the court of his decision to self-represent.

Mpisi, who holds an LLB from the University of Pretoria, studied for a postgraduate diploma in mining law at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he met the deceased, Rabalao.

He was arrested in June last year, four months after Rabalao’s burnt body was discovered in her car in Midrand.

According to police, Rabalao was killed before her body was set on fire. Mpisi previously abandoned his bail application as police were finalizing a DNA report for blood found in their home.

He is scheduled to return to court on May 31.