Court orders judge’s estate to remain frozen

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, asked the court yesterday for the interim order to be extended until June 24 next year, saying Maqubela had been referred for psychiatric evaluation.

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.

Maqubela was found dead in bed at a flat in 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 other evidence, that Maqubela had intentionally killed him.

When her criminal case last came before the court a couple of weeks ago, the court was told that the panel of experts needed more time with her. It was postponed to December 8.

The AFU, meanwhile, has set its sights on Maqubela being stripped of her share of the estate of her late husband which it believes to be worth R7.2 million.

This is on the grounds that her share constitutes the “proceeds of unlawful activities”. Alternatively, the unit is relying on the common law principle that “a bloody hand does not inherit”.