FLABBA’S KILLER WEEPS
‘She exceeded the limits of self-defence’
SHE WEPT, shock and disbelief etched on her face. Dazed and with tears welling in her eyes, she was inconsolable as her relatives embraced her.
Sindisiwe Manqele broke down and cried in the dock when she heard that she has been found guilty of the murder of her rapper boyfriend Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi.
As the thought of potentially spending years behind bars set in, tears continued to stream down the former business studies student’s face.
Draped in a scarf to hide from the sharp glares of those seated in the public gallery, Manqele stared blankly ahead and occasionally held her face.
Distraught, Manqele cast a forlorn figure after her relatives dashed out of the packed courtroom of the high court sitting in Randburg, apparently to avoid the media.
Convicting Manqele, Acting Judge Solly Sithole rejected her version that she acted in self-defence when she fatally stabbed the Skwatta Kamp rapper near his heart.
Instead, the judge found that her version of events was “not reasonably or possibility true and should therefore be rejected”.
“The State has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and the accused is found guilty of the murder of Mr Habedi, as charged,” the judge said while delivering his 50-page judgment.
As the harsh reality began to dawn, Manqele found no sympathy from Habedi’s relatives, including his daughter Lesego.
Manqele spent her first night in prison last night as lawyers abandoned her bail bid yesterday.
After the judgment, the rapper’s mother Agatha and his brother Tsepang sat on the benches outside, where they, too, sobbed. But it seemed that these were tears of gratitude for justice served.
Agatha said the family could finally begin to try to pick up the pieces, following the rapper’s untimely death at his Alexandra home in March.
“I feel relieved because my boy has finally been vindicated,” Agatha said. “We can now begin to move on with our lives and start healing.”
Agatha said Manqele had still not apologised to the family for mur- dering Habedi and that it was now too late. The family have labelled Manqele a liar and said she should have told the truth on the stand.
“I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought that maybe what happened was a mistake, but when I heard the things she said, I knew she was lying,” Agatha said.
Manqele testified in Septem- ber that in an act of jealousy and because of his low self-esteem caused by his financial problems, Habedi assaulted her and called her a “gold digger, bitch and prostitute” during a heated lovers’ quarrel.
This was after he spotted two men speaking to her at the Sands nightclub in Sandton.
Manqele also testified that in a desperate bid to defend herself and escape his wrath, she plunged a kitchen knife in Habedi’s chest.
But those who were with the couple at the time painted Manqele as the jealous one who became enraged when she saw Habede speaking to other women at the club, including his ex-girlfriend.
Judge Sithole also failed to believe Manqele’s version and said she had acted outside the boundaries of self-defence during the altercation with Habedi. He said that considering the evidence presented during the trial that she had used “considerable” force when stabbing Habedi, this didn’t match the alleged threat to her life and instead made her the attacker.
“She exceeded the limits or bounds of self-defence by plunging the knife into the chest of the deceased,” the judge said.
Amanda Vilakazi, of the defence team, said they intended applying for bail this morning and would discuss the way forward.
Sindisiwe Manqele is accused of stabbing her boyfriend Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi at his Alexandra home on March 9. She claims she acted in self-defence as the Skwatta Kamp rapper was attacking her following a lover’s tiff. This was after the couple returned from a night out in Sandton. Her murder trial ran for
about two weeks in the Johannesburg High Court sitting in Randburg.