Flabba: Accused ‘intentionally’ stabbed him

In a day of sensational revelations, Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi' girlfriend admitted that she intentionally stabbed him.

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Johannesburg - In a day of sensational revelations, the girlfriend of hip hop artist Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi, has admitted that she intentionally stabbed him on March 9 at his home.

Sindisiwe Manqele was testifying in the High Court sitting at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday when she demonstrated to the court how she pushed and then stabbed Habedi in an attempt to get away from him.

Gasps could be heard from the public gallery as she made the admission.

Manqele also admitted to being jealous of the other relationships Habedi was involved in.

“It’s natural. What woman wouldn’t be,” Manqele said.

Manqele has pleaded not guilty to the murder and claims she was trying to protect herself from her violent lover.

Earlier, State prosecutor Paul Schutter argued that Manqele was contradicting herself when trying to explain how Habedi prevented her from leaving the bedroom.

Manqele had testified that Habedi had blocked her from leaving the room after she had pushed him to the side.

“He got in front of me and I was facing the door and he turned me around and his back was to the door,” Manqele said.

She said that Habedi had a knife in his right had and she couldn’t remember when he switched it to his left hand.

She told the court that she believed Habedi wanted to kill her.

Schutter asked Manqele whether she didn’t think that the stab wounds on her stomach would’ve been worse if that was the case.

“I have no comment to that,” Manqele said.

Manqele said she only had a proper look at her stomach injuries when she was at the police station.

The knife used in the stabbing was presented to the court and Manqele was asked to demonstrate how Habedi had been holding the knife when he stabbed her in the stomach.

“I don’t know how he was holding it,” Manqele said.

Schutter told the court he doubted Manqele would have had the physical strength to grab the knife from Habedi as he was a big man.

But, she said: “There’s a lot that can happen when you are scared. I was fearing for my life.”

Manqele said she had pushed Habedi off her “with all her force” but Schutter questioned how that could be possible when Habedi weighed 110 kgs.

Schutter argued that it was totally improbable for Habedi to be able to catch Manqele so quickly after she had pushed him onto his side.

“That’s what happened,” Manqele insisted.

Acting Judge Solly Sithole put it to Manqele that the confrontation between her and Habedi had reached a point that they were fighting for possession of the knife.

“Exactly,” Manqele said.

Defence lawyer Norman Makhubela objected saying that Sithole was putting words in Manqele’s mouth.

Schutter also asked Manqele why she had said that she had wanted to die.

“That was after they said he had passed away,” Manqele said.

Schutter asked Manqele if she wanted to kill herself right then and there.

“Yes at that moment I wanted to kill myself,” Manqele said.

Schutter argued that Habedi had been topless when he was knifed, perhaps, he said, because he wasn’t expecting to be stabbed and was getting ready for bed.

Judge Sithole asked Manqele whether from her behaviour she would describe the trauma she experienced after stabbing Habedi as greater than the trauma she sustained during the argument.

“Yes,” Manqele said.

ANA