CONVICTED murderer Mulalo Sivhidzho smiled and posed for family and friends to take cellphone pictures before she walked down the stairs to the cells

Elegantly dressed, Sivhidzho stood for a few minutes, leaning on the bench, and talked to her relatives, who took her pictures. They said their goodbyes - and she went down.

Sivhidzho and her co-accused, Ntambudzeni Matzhenene and Arnold Sello appeared briefly in the Johannesburg high court yesterday for sentencing.

But their case was postponed because acting Judge Naren Pandya was sick and Sivhidzho's probation report was not ready.

"Reports for accused one and two are ready, only hers (Sivhidzho) is not ready," state advocate Maro Pappachristoforou told Judge Brian Spilg, who was standing in for Judge Pandya to postpone the case.

The sentencing was postponed to February 23.

Pappachristoforou said the new date would suit "all parties involved, including the probation officer".

"Judge Pandya is happy with the date," Pappachristoforou said.

Sivhidzho, Matzhenene and Sello were found guilty on December 7 last year of killing Avhatakali Netshisaulu, exactly four years after Netshisaulu was brutally killed.

Sivhidzho hired the men to kill her husband.

Netshisaulu, the son of former City Press editor-in-chief Mathatha Tsedu, was hijacked and burnt alive in the boot of his car by Sello and about six other men who had been hired by Sivhidzho.

His charred remains were found in Honeydew, about an hour after he called his wife to say he was being followed by two cars. He was on his way to meet Matzhenene.