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'i want my job and my hubby back'

LOST TRUST: Maria Maleke has been acquitted but her husband can't forgive her. Pic. Mohau Mofokeng. 27/10/08. © Sowetan.
LOST TRUST: Maria Maleke has been acquitted but her husband can't forgive her. Pic. Mohau Mofokeng. 27/10/08. © Sowetan.

Zinhle Mapumulo

Zinhle Mapumulo

Maria Maleke may have been acquitted on a charge of conspiring to rob Pick n Pay with her lover and his friend, but her woes are not over.

She wants her husband and her job back but David Sekoto has moved from their home to Central Western Jabavu and he is not willing to forgive her or to take her back.

"I am happy for her that she will not be going to jail. But this does not mean that we will continue where we left off," he said.

"I trusted my wife and I do not think that kind of trust can ever be regained. I never thought she would be capable of doing something like this.

"The court may have acquitted her but I do not think I could easily forgive her. She humiliated me and my children.

"Even today I am still ashamed to look at my colleagues and neighbours because of this scandal. To make it worse she did this with her lover while making a fool of me."

But Maleke said. "I want him back. I want my job back."

"I have always maintained that I am innocent. Now that the court has proved it, I hope my husband will forgive me and forget what happened. I know it is not going to be easy but I would like to have my family and my job back."

Maleke, 31, has been in prison for two years. She was arrested in September 2006 when one of the accused and her lover, Senzo Mweli, implicated her as the mastermind behind the armed robbery dubbed the Jeppestown massacre after the deadly gun battle between the cops and the robbers.

Maleke and Sekoto were employed at the Pick 'n Pay in Honeydew at the time of the robbery.

"I am going to approach Pick 'n Pay and ask for my job back. If they refuse then I have no other option but to look elsewhere.

"I have children to look after and need to continue with my life. I am praying that they will take into consideration the court's ruling before they make any decision," she said.

Outside court, Maleke's sister Babie Makoro said she was very happy about the outcome of the case.

"The whole family always knew that she was innocent. We prayed day and night to God to set her free. Our prayers were finally answered today," she said.

Maleke will be moving in with her mother.

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