Maqubela text messages revealed

INLSA

ON THE PHONE: Vela Mabena, left, and Thandi Maqubela in the Cape Town Labour Court yesterday. Cellphone records were again the focus of testimony as the State alleged that Maqubela was in possession of her husband Acting Judge Patrick Maqubelas phone after his alleged murder.Photo: Courtney Africa

Leila Samodien

Justice Writer

AT 3.13pm on the day of his alleged murder, an SMS was sent from Acting Judge Patrick Maqubela’s phone in which he begged for his wife Thandi’s forgiveness – but by then he had already been dead for hours.

The SMS read: “Pls forgive me 4 all the things I ve done 2 u. I cant even face u. yes u ve a point. I need help. thanks for being ther for me. I love u. Ntobs [sic].”

This emerged in court yesterday when some of the content of the SMSes between the acting judge and his wife was revealed for the first time.

Maqubela and her co-accused, Vela Mabena, are on trial for his alleged murder.

EXPERT: Peter Schmitz testifies on cellphone records.

INLSA

It is the State’s case that Acting Judge Maqubela, whose first name is Ntobeko, was suffocated to death in his luxury Bantry Bay flat in the late morning of June 5, 2009.

According to testimony by Peter Schmitz, of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the SMS was sent from the acting judge’s phone, which had been in the vicinity of his flat. His wife’s phone had been in the same area.

Five minutes later, a responding SMS was sent to the acting judge from Thandi Maqubela’s number. It read: “Tx. I’ll always b ther 4 u. if u need help, let talk. pls cal me. When a we going to Qumbu? 2moro is still fine with me. mamtolo [sic].”

Again, the two cellphones had been in close proximity of each other in the vicinity of the apartment complex.

The State has spent the past two weeks building up cellphone evidence against the two accused. They allege that Maqubela was in possession of her husband’s cellphone following the alleged murder.

Schmitz testified that on Friday, June 5, 2009 and the weekend following it, Maqubela’s phone had moved from Cape Town to Johannesburg, then to East London and Qumbu – the acting judge’s hometown, where the couple was scheduled to visit that weekend – and finally back to Cape Town.

Her husband’s cellphone had been triggered in the same areas that weekend, but according to the State’s case, he was already dead by late morning on June 5, 2009.

An example of this, according to Schmitz’s testimony, was that on the day of the alleged murder, the acting judge had received a phone call at 12.52pm. His phone had been in Bellville.

Just after the call, Maqubela’s phone dialled the number. Her phone had triggered the same cellphone base station as her husband’s had, indicating that the two phones were in the same vicinity.

Also, the next day, June 6, 2009, an SMS had been sent from Maqubela’s cellphone in north Johannesburg, saying: “Tata pleas cal me. i don’t know what 2 do now. we both promised ubuthi Count to visit Qumbu. I M IN jhb with children. they started exams. they need us. pls cal. we luv u. nolusapho [sic].”

The SMS was received by the acting judge’s cellphone, which had also been in north Johannesburg.

Maqubela’s defence counsel Marius Broeksma questioned Schmitz over whether it was possible for two people to be in the same vicinity but that their cellphones still triggered the same base station or a nearby one.

Schmitz replied that it was.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za