Johannesburg - Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi’s lover was so consumed with jealousy when she saw him flirting with his former girlfriend that they became embroiled in a heated argument which ended in the rapper’s death.
This, and other explosive details, emerged on Wednesday when Habedi’s long-time friend Nkululeko Chauke took the stand in Sindisiwe Manqele’s murder trial in the high court sitting in Randburg.
Chauke had been with the couple at The Sands nightclub in Sandton on the night before Manqele fatally stabbed the rapper at his Alexandra home in March. The business studies student has pleaded not guilty to the murder and said she stabbed him in self-defence.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Chauke told the court that when the couple fetched him and his girlfriend, they were in a jovial mood. When they arrived at the club, they all socialised and danced together.
But things took a turn for the worse when Skwatta Kamp manager Peter Lynch’s girlfriend went to chat to the rapper. Chauke said Manqele sulked and became withdrawn.
Her anger escalated shortly afterwards when the girlfriend of fellow rapper Tabure Thabo Bogopa, known as JR in the music industry, went to speak to the group and hugged Habedi.
The woman, known as Kea, who previously dated Habedi, allegedly poured herself a glass of vodka that belonged to the group and danced around the rapper.
Chauke testified that Manqele was convinced that her lover was flirting with his ex-girlfriend, saying he disrespected her by flirting with his ex in her presence. She screamed at him and he reassured her that he hadn’t been flirting.
The tension eased for a while.
Habedi performed on stage, and afterwards the couple, who appeared to have reconciled, danced together.
Chauke said that just as the group were planning to leave the club, the lovers started to quarrel again.
He testified that while Manqele and his girlfriend waited for them at the entrance as they greeted their friends, two men came to speak to the women.
When he and Habedi saw that, the other men questioned why they were taking the women home, causing Chauke and Habedi to argue with them.
Another musician separated the group, Chauke said.
Manqele asked Habedi why he could flirt with women but she couldn’t talk to other guys. She allegedly told him that he couldn’t tell her what to do as “he doesn’t pay her bills”.
The couple argued outside the club and when the group went to buy food.
Chauke said tension appeared to have eased again on the drive home and that he didn’t witness any violence between the couple that night.
The defence has denied that Manqele became jealous when she saw other women speaking to Habedi. The defence said the argument started when the rapper saw the men speaking to Manqele and he had become violent with her as a result.
The Star