Maqubela estate order extended

A COURT order that has in effect frozen convicted murderer Thandi Maqubela’s multimillion-rand share of her slain husband’s estate has been extended by seven months.

The provisional restraint order was obtained by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) in the Western Cape High Court in July.

A lawyer for the AFU, Muhammed Kagee, yesterday asked the court for the interim order to be extended to next year, saying Maqubela had been referred for psychiatric evaluation.

Maqubela was referred for observation by a panel of experts in September.

Her sentencing procedures are yet to begin – more than a year after she was convicted of the murder of her husband Patrick Maqubela, an acting judge on the Western Cape Bench, and of fraud and forgery for falsifying his will.

Acting Judge Maqubela was found dead in bed at his Cape Town flat on June 7, 2009, his body covered with a pillow and sheet.

While the medical evidence could not conclusively determine his cause of death, Judge John Murphy found, based on the totality of the evidence, Maqubela had intentionally killed him.

When her criminal case last came before the court a few weeks ago, the court was told that the panel of experts needed more time with the widow. It was postponed to next month.

The AFU is relying on the common law principle that “a bloody hand does not inherit” and has set its sights on Maqubela being stripped of her share of the estate, worth about R7.2 million.