Johannesburg - “You might see us smiling, but we are not taking this well.”
These were the words of slain rapper Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi’s brother Tshepang, who took the stand in the high court sitting in Palm Ridge on Wednesday - on the day that marked exactly a year since the Skwatta Kamp rapper was killed.
It was the start of the sentencing procedures of his brother’s girlfriend Sindisiwe Manqele, who has since been found guilty of his murder.
Manqele plunged a kitchen knife in his chest near his heart during a lover’s quarrel at his Alexandra home following a night out at a Sandton club.
On Wednesday, the tension inside the courtroom was palpable as Manqele looked directly ahead during proceedings and avoided the public gallery, which was packed with Habedi’s relatives, including his mother Agatha and daughter Lesego.
The former business studies student draped a scarf over her face, as in her previous appearances, in a bid to avoid the large media contingent.
But she was unable to avoid the emotional words of Tshepang, who told the court that a year later, his family were still struggling to deal with his brother’s death.
Testifying in aggravation of sentence, he said that besides being the breadwinner of the family, the rapper was also the glue that held the family, including his extended family, together.
“After Nkuli died, we are not as close anymore,” he said.
But despite the Habedi family’s loss, experts called to testify on behalf of the defence told the court that Manqele does not necessarily have to go to prison and that she is a candidate for correctional supervision.She is a first-time offender, has a fixed address and did not violate her parole conditions, the court heard.
Criminologist Zain Halle told the court that Manqele acknowledged that her actions in the fatal stabbing caused people pain.
He said Manqele had told him during a consultation that she did not like people feeling sorry for her as “she did not deserve their pity”.
Halle testified that Manqele acted impulsively and not with premeditation when she stabbed Habedi. “She does not show characteristics of criminal intent.”
He added that she showed remorse and could be rehabilitated instead of being sent to jail.
Manqele testified last year that she stabbed Habedi in a desperate bid to escape his jealous rage as he was attacking her after he spotted other men chatting to her.
But those who were with the couple said Manqele was the jealous one who became enraged when she saw Habedi speaking to other women at the club, including his ex-girlfriend.
Acting Judge Solly Sithole convicted Manqele for Habedi’s murder, rejecting her version that she acted in self-defence.