Johannesburg – Sindisiwe Manqele, who murdered the late Skwatta Kamp rapper Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi, has been granted parole.
The 33-year-old woman was found guilty of murdering her rapper boyfriend when she stabbed him in the chest on March 9, 2015. She was released on parole on Tuesday.
She was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in 2015.
Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed her release under parole conditions.
“The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is able to confirm that Ms Sindisiwe Precious Manqele has been placed on parole, effectively from May 24, 2022.”
Nxumalo added: “This decision was taken by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board, (CSPB) having assessed Manqele’s profile as submitted by the Case Management Committee and other material presented for the purposes of parole consideration.”
Manqele’s attorney had argued that she had acted in self defence when stabbing her boyfriend to death, but the court found she had exceeded the limits of private-defence.
Judge Solly Sithole handed down a sentence of 12 years to Manqele in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, after finding her guilty of murder in 2015.
Sithole also recommended that parole may only be granted after Manqele had served two thirds of her sentence (eight years).
The trial that made headlines at the time was long and efficient, and Manqele claimed and maintained that she was remorseful and did not want Flabba to die.
“In arriving at its decision, the CSPB further took into consideration that Ms Manqele has a positive support system. Her parole placement is in line with Section 73 of the Correctional Services Act, which determines the minimum period of sentence that must be served before consideration may be granted for possible placement.
“Manqele takes responsibility for the offence she committed and is remorseful about it. She completed all the identified programmes as per her Correctional Sentence Plan and participated in the Victim Offender Dialogue in 2018,” said Nxumalo
This is not the first time that Manqele has surfaced since her sentencing, she also resurfaced in the news in 2018, when she graduated from the University of South Africa, with an honours in business management.
She was among 127 other convicted felons, who completed their education within the correctional services system.
“It is critical to highlight that parole placement is not the end of the sentence, as Manqele will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections, whereby she is expected to comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subject to supervision until her sentence expires on May 23, 2028,” said Nxumalo
Nxumalo added: “Parole placement forms part of the total rehabilitation programme in correcting offending behaviour, and may include continuation of programmes aimed at reintegration whilst in the system of community corrections.”
