Flabba killer Manqele denied leave to appeal murder conviction

Manqele, who was found guilty of murdering her rapper boyfriend Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi in September 2015 and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, had applied for leave to appeal her conviction and sentence.

However, the High Court sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, declined her request.

“Having carefully applied my mind to the facts of the case and arguments raised I arrive to the conclusion that your application has failed due to the lack of prospects of success and no other court will make a different finding,” Sithole said.

Earlier Manqele’s attorney Norman Makhubela argued that there was no record that she knew that her conduct was unlawful.

Makhubela said the court failed to appreciate that at the moment Habedi held her arms and left her with no option but to push and make her way out.

“The courts findings were totally absurd.”

Prosecutor Paul Schutter said Habedi didn’t pose as a threat at the time of the stabbing and Manqele became the attacker instead of the victim. Habedi was fatally stabbed at his home in Alexander in March 2015.

He said the court had applied the principles correctly and found that her evidence wasn’t entirely true.

The sentence was “shockingly reasonable” and all the issues addressed by the court were discussed in detail and there was no bases for another court to intervene, Schutter said.

Manqele’s R15,000 bail was cancelled and she will immediately begin serving her 12 year sentence.

Habedi was a rapper, who became a household name with his Skwatta Kamp group. - ANA