Contradictions in Manqele's tale of Flabba stabbing

Sindiswe Manqele’s tale of how she stabbed her rapper boyfriend Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi became less clear under questioning on Thursday.

Manqele‚ 26‚ who is on trial in the Johannesburg High Court sitting at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court for the murder of Habedi‚ 37‚ contradicted her own evidence on some details of the alleged struggle between the two as prosecutor Paul Schutte cross-examined her.

Habedi died of a stab wound to the chest on March 9 at his home in Alexandra‚ Johannesburg. Manqele has pleaded not guilty and said she stabbed him in self-defence.

Manqele testified earlier that she managed to take the knife from Habedi in a struggle while he had her pushed down on his bed. She said she then managed to free herself and headed for the door but he grabbed her and turned her around. She then “pushed and stabbed him” in order to get away.

While she said earlier that she stabbed Habedi by mistake‚ Manqele on Thursday said she did it intentionally.

“I intentionally stabbed him to get away from him. I wanted to hurt him so he could get away from me‚” she said.

She later said she made a mistake when saying this. She said she did not choose the right words because it was her first time appearing in court.

Earlier‚ she said she managed to free herself from Habedi after getting the knife by pushing his right knee away. When pressed by Schutte‚ she said Habedi had moved his left knee‚ allowing her to escape.

Schutte said it was improbable that Manqele‚ who does not weigh much‚ could have been able to push off a man weighing 110 kilograms. He said it was also improbable that Habedi would not suffer any injuries during such a scuffle because the sharp part of the knife was pointing at him.

Manqele’s response was that there was lot a person could do when they feared for their life.

Schutte told her that by stabbing Habedi in the chest‚ she foresaw the possibility of stabbing him in the heart.

She was also pressed on why she did not leave the room immediately after stabbing Habedi if she was desperate to leave the room.

She said she wanted to make sure that Habedi was okay.

Schutte said Habedi did not have any defensive wounds on his body‚ which was indicative of the fact that he was not expecting to be stabbed.

It also emerged that Manqele had thrust the knife into Habedi and pulled it out.

Judge Solly Sithole asked Manqele whether‚ because tensions were high as she was heading for the door‚ she and Habedi were fighting for possession of the knife. Manqele responded: “Exactly!”

She later retracted this after her defence advocate Norman Makhubela objected to the court’s question‚ saying Sithole was putting words into Manqele’s mouth.

“I misunderstood the court‚” Manqele said.

“Yes‚ because your counsel objected‚” Judge Sithole responded.

Manqele also conceded that any woman would be jealous that their boyfriend was having multiple relationships with other women. This while she earlier testified that she was not the jealous type and was not bothered by the fact Habedi was appreciated by his male and female fans.

The trial continues.