Flabba murder accused out on bail

UPDATE: 16 March 2015, 1:31pm – According to reports, the woman accused of killing Nkululeko Habedi (Flabba) has been granted R10 000 bail.

Sindisiwe Manqele claimed self-defence in an affidavit submitted to the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court earlier today.  According to the affidavit read in court by Manqele’s legal representation, Manqele denied intentionally killing Habedi.

Manqele said her life was in danger when she allegedly stabbed Habedi in the heart, and “vehemently denied” murdering him.

“I submit that I am presumed innocent until proven guilty. The State has a weak case against me, I am confident that I will not be found guilty,”Manqele said in her affidavit.

Amanda Vilakazi, Manqele’s lawyer told the court that Manqele posed no danger to society, and would be denied proper access to legal counsel if bail was not granted.

The prosecution opposed the bail application. It also emerged that Manqele tried to kill her self by slitting her wrists with broken pieces of glass following the fatal stabbing of superstar Flabba.

Initial report: 10 March 2015, 1pm – A large crowd gathered outside the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court to witness the appearance of a woman who allegedly stabbed to death popular Alex rapper, Flabba.

The accused, Sindisiwe Precious Manqele’s (26) is believed to be the rappers girlfriend.

The case was heard for only seven minutes by magistrate Gideon Schnetler and was remanded to 16 March to allow for further police investigations and bail application.

The legal representative for Manqele requested the court to observe injuries sustained by the accused purportedly during an altercation that is said to have led to the killing of Flabba, whose real name is Nkululeko Habedi.

View tweets from court below:

https://twitter.com/JacaNews/status/575208953216397312/photo/1

Her injuries included bruises on both upper arms, stitched cuts on her wrists and swellings on the abdomen.

The accused’s legal representative also asked for medical attention to be granted to the accused while she was in custody which was noted by the magistrate.

One person who declined to be named said the incident happened after Flabba’s wife had earlier in the day confronted the pair and demanded maintenance money from Flabba for their children. This is believed to have angered the accused, resulting in a fierce altercation between the accused and Flabba.

A close friend of Flabba, Silas Motebejane said he and others had spent most of the day with Flabba before his murder. “As usual he was in his jovial mood and left later, and only for us to hear in the morning that he had been killed.”

Motebejane said the incident had touched family, friends, fans and the Alex community very badly. “Flabba was a friendly character who bore no grudges and didn’t deserve to die in the manner he did,” he said. “He is irreplaceable. We all have arguments in the family and between lovers, but this is no way to resolve a problem.”

A friend, Palesa Nkosi who knew Flabba since childhood, said arguments happen all the time between people but they should not end with a killing.

The death has robbed the family of a breadwinner and father figure. “If the argument was that serious and heated, the accused should have involved the elderly for mediation. For her actions, she deserves to rot in jail,” Nkosi said.

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