Johannesburg - There’s nothing wrong with slapping your girlfriend to reprimand her for wrongdoing.
This was the response of Donald Sebolai, who is standing trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Dolly Tshabalala, as he was being grilled about the alleged crime on Thursday in the high court sitting in Palm Ridge.
Sebolai didn’t hesitate as he told the court it was okay to slap Tshabalala. He added, however, that the assault didn’t have to lead to injuries.
This was the reaction during cross-examination of the murder accused following intense questioning by prosecutor Elize le Roux.
He didn’t dispute the fact when Le Roux put it to him that every time he slapped Tshabalala, it was to get her in line. Le Roux asked him if it was right to say he would hit Tshabalala softly and not hard, to which he replied: “Yes”. This led the audience in the public gallery to burst out laughing.
This was despite Sebolai telling the court that his Mid-Morning Chat show focused on woman and child abuse.
The former Jozi FM DJ, who spent a week giving testimony, is accused of killing his girlfriend and is also facing charges of theft and defeating the ends of justice. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The DJ said Tshabalala never opened a case of assault against him. But Le Roux asked if he had convinced her to drop the charges or if she felt sorry for him. “Maybe she realised her mistakes,” he responded.
It was then put to him that he had painted a picture to the court that Tshabalala was the one who killed herself. But he stuck to his version that they had entered into a struggle over the knife and she got stabbed in the process.
He earlier disputed Warrant Officer Pheepa Mabitsi’s version that he had threatened Tshabalala, who went more than once to the police station seeking police intervention. The DJ also disputed visiting the police station and requesting Mabitsi to assist him with kicking Tshabalala out of his flat.
The trial continues.
The Star