TENSION AT FLABBA MURDER TRIAL
THE GIRLFRIEND of hip hop star Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi again took every precaution to shield herself from public view during her murder trial.
At her brief appearance in the high court sitting in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Sindisiwe Manqele wore baggy clothes.
The 26-year-old petite beauty tried to hide her face with a flimsy black-and-white scarf. In a further bid to avoid media attention and the eyes of the public, Manqele discreetly crept into the court, flanked by her relatives and lawyers.
She went directly into another courtroom before proceedings commenced and returned to Courtroom 1 for just a few minutes as her murder trial was post- poned to next month.
The tension was palpable inside court as the relatives of the slain rapper and his girlfriend were seated on opposite sides of the public gallery.
Habedi’s mother Agatha and younger brother Tshepang were among them.
Manqele – a business student – avoided eye contact with them and lowered her scarf fractionally while directing her attention towards Acting Judge Solly Sithole during proceedings.
As per mutual agreement by the State and the defence, Judge Sithole postponed the trial to September 7, which is scheduled to be heard in the same court until September 18.
This was to allow Manqele’s newly appointed advocate, Norman Makhubela, to familiarise himself with the case and for the matter to be finalised.
Habedi, a member of the renowned hip hop group Skwatta Kamp, was killed when he was struck in the heart with a knife, allegedly wielded by Manqele, in March during an alleged lover’s quarrel at his Alexandra home.
She suffered a range of injuries during an argument with the rapper, forcing her to defend herself, she previously claimed.