THE man accused of murdering and burning his girlfriend has been denied bail at the Paarl Magistrate’s Court once again.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the case against Sithobele Qebe was postponed to next Thursday for a regional court date.
He is charged with murdering 27-year-old Siphokazi Booi earlier this month.
Her body was found dumped close to the railway tracks on a dump site near his shack in White City, Mbekweni, in Paarl.
Qebe is also charged with assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm after he allegedly assaulted Booi on August 7.
The victim’s aunt, Nontando Booi, said: “The accused had been abusing Booi for years. They tried to do all they can as a family to end the relationship”.
She said they agreed when the accused asked that the cases be argued on the same day, not separately.
“We are also happy that he confessed to his crimes which made things easy for the law but we hope the trial starts soon,” she said.
According to the investigating officer, Qebe confessed in a warning statement that he assaulted Booi in the early hours of September 5.
After the assault she vomited and fell asleep and didn’t wake up. He then realised that she had died.
He confessed that he collected a dustbin, bundled her limp body into it with her feet up, then covered all with a plastic sheet.
He claims that he left her body in the dustbin at the dumpsite and denies that he burnt her body. The body was confirmed to be that of Booi after DNA was taken from family members.
In his last court appearance the court denied Qebe bail. It further noted that the accused lied to the court when he said he had no pending cases against him as the assault case was pending at the time of her death. His case was postponed to October 7 for a regional court date. | Weekend Argus