Flabba murder accused in court
SINDISIWE Manqele, accused of killing her rapper boyfriend, Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi, tried to avoid attention when she appeared briefly in the dock yesterday.
The petite woman draped a scarf over her head and face to prevent anyone from getting a glimpse of what she looked like.
The business student appeared composed before proceedings began in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court.
She arrived in court early to avoid attention and seemed to have succeeded until a photographer from The Mercury’s sister newspaper, The Star, snapped her.
She was joined by her family and friends as well as those of Habedi, including his brother, Tshepang.
It took magistrate Gideon Shnetler a few minutes to postpone the case to August. The trial, which will run from August 17 to 28, was transferred to the South Gauteng High Court, sitting in Randburg.
Prosecutor Percy Ramashu told the court that the State’s investigation into the Skwatta Kamp rapper’s death was complete.
Manqele allegedly killed Habedi by stabbing him in the heart at his Alexandra home in March.
During her bail application, she “vehemently denied” murdering him and said she acted in self-defence. She told the court that she had suffered injuries during an argument with the rapper, which forced her to defend herself.
She said she sustained injuries, including stab wounds on her abdomen and wounds on her chest, neck, limbs and fingers.
Although she admitted that the wounds on one of her wrists were self-inflicted, she claimed that Habedi had caused the rest of her injuries.
But the State said Habedi’s family and friends who were at the house at the time of the argument did not see any visible injuries on her and were only aware of those that were selfinflicted.
However, Shnetler said that the wounds were too extensive to have been self-inflicted.
Manqele’s effort to avoid attention comes after enraged Alexandra residents confronted her and her relatives at her previous court appearances.
But tension seemed to have simmered down yesterday, with only a small group waiting outside the court.