Mpho Motsoari was the second witness to be called on the second day the-standof the so-called Flabba trial at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on 8 September.
Nkululeko ‘Flabba’ Habedi was killed by a knife wound to his heart in the early hours of 9 March at his house in Alexandra. Sindiswe Manqele was arrested in connection with his death, and she subsequently pleaded private defence in court.
Defence attorney Norman Makhubela cross-examined Motsoari and called into question his judgment of the events due to the substances that he had consumed earlier that evening. “Yes, I did smoke marijuana and I drank two beers about two hours before the accused and the deceased came home,” said this witness.
Motsoari had assumed that Flabba might have had a few ‘glasses of alcohol’ as he was at a party at The Sands during the night before his death. Also there were many discrepancies regarding Motsoari’s statement given at the police station shortly after the incident and his testimony in court. He had clamied in his police statement that he heard Flabba scream, “The f*/king b*tch stabbed me.” He then contradicted this statement in court when he said he heard no screams prior to the stabbing.
Makhubela stated, “You are biased Sir, you are trying your best to ignore what you said in your statement.”
The next State witness, Thapelo Sello, friends with Flabba’s brother for over 10 years, took the stand. He chose to use the iZulu interpreter. He said he heard the accused, (Sindiswe Manqele) scream, “Luyanda, please help me. Tshepang, please help me!”
Sello was also a witness to Manqele using a silver-rimmed glass to cut her wrists in full view of police and those around her. Prosecutor Paul Schutter questioned him on Manqele’s clothing on the night in question and – in contradiction to previous statements given by other witnesses in court – Sello said her vest was purple in colour. He was also able to indentify the stainless steel black-handled steak knife that was allegedly used in the stabbing.
Makhubela will continue his cross examination of Sello in Randburg Magistrates’ Court on 9 September at 10am.
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