Thandi can claim share of hubby’s riches
Fraudster beats murder rap, is in line for parole
Convicted fraudster Thandi Maqubela could benefit from the multimillion-rand estate of her late husband, acting judge Patrick Maqubela.
Maqubela, 62, may also be home by Christmas because she is eligible for parole.
This after the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein overturned her murder conviction last week.
Her lawyers said the woman once dubbed “the black widow” will apply for parole.
Maqubela’s lawyer Jolinda Vreugde Slager, from Lamprecht Attorneys, said she was now a normal heir to the intestate deceased estate.
“The process of administration of the estate might still take a while, depending on the master’s directives and objections thereto,” she added, in reference to the master of the court.
Maqubela was initially found guilty of murder by the Western Cape High Court following Maqubela’s death in June 2009.
She forged her late husband’s signature to become the main beneficiary of his estate believed to be worth more than R20-million.
Wits University School of Law’s Professor James Grant said: “Maqubela would now receive from the estate what she was initially entitled to [in terms of her husband’s correct will].”
Grant said the law wouldn’t punish her by making her forfeit her entire benefit because she may have attempted to benefit more than what she was initially entitled to.
Vreugde Slager said their immediate priority would be to apply for parole.
“She is eligible for parole on those convictions [for fraud and forgery].
“She already served more than two-thirds of that [threeyear] sentence.”
Maqubela is serving time at a Western Cape prison.
She had been incarcerated since her conviction on November 11 2013, however, she started serving her sentence for the fraud and forgery convictions in April last year, according to Vreugde Slager.
When asked if Maqubela would consider suing the National Prosecuting Authority, Vreugde Slager said: “I have no instructions on whether she intends to sue the NPA or anybody else.”
Duma Maqubela, the acting judge’s son from a previous marriage, said of the latest development: “I wouldn’t want to comment on that.”