Murdered Khayelitsha: Family say justice system failed themThe man accused of fatally stabbing Phelokazi Mqathanya has been found not guilty by the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court.
by Mambaonline.com
03-02-2023 09:29
in LGBTQIA+
Openly lesbian Phelokazi Mqathanya, who trained as a chef, was stabbed to death in a suspected hate crime in May 2021 via Mambaonline
The man accused of fatally stabbing Phelokazi Mqathanya has been found not guilty by the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court.
The Magistrate found that the State did not present sufficient evidence to convict the accused of the murder.
Mqathanya was lesbian and her family believe her murder was a hate crime.
This news came as a shock to her family and activists who for months had been fighting for justice after her murder.
The man accused of fatally stabbing a Khayelitsha woman has been found not guilty by the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court.
--
This news came as a shock to her family and activists who for months had been fighting for justice for Phelokazi Mqathanya's murder.
Mqathanya, who lived in Site C in Khayelitsha, was stabbed to death on 2 May 2021. She was lesbian and her relatives and activists believe her murder was a hate crime.
The accused, Bongani Ngadleka, was arrested soon after the murder. But after several delays in the investigations and four court postponements, the case was removed from the court roll on 14 December 2021.
--
ALSO READ: New Johannesburg mayor is from openly queerphobic party
The case was brought back to court on 5 May 2022 following action by activists at Free Gender.
In October 2022, the case was again postponed because the prosecutors were not in court and the matter was remanded for trial in January 2023 at a hearing later that month.
--
The trial was expected to start on 18 January, but the accused was not at court due to transport issues at Pollsmoor Prison. This happened again on 19 January. This case has been postponed 15 times since May 2022.
On Friday 27 January, Ngadleka was found not guilty on the charge of murder. The magistrate found the case had failed to present sufficient evidence.
On Thursday 26 January, state witness Abongile Ngalo told the court that the night Mqathanya was stabbed, he and his friends were drinking at his house when she joined them with three other girls. Phelokazi was my friend, he said.
Her family believe her murder was a hate crime. Members of Free Gender protested at Khayelitsha Remembrance Square outside the magistrate's court in September. (Photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana) via Mambaonline
Ngalo said that the accused had arrived about 20 minutes after Mqathanya and her friends, who had been sitting in the kitchen area of the house.
Bongani wasn't a friend, but I knew him from [the community]. He started dancing but we never paid much attention to him. At one point I saw him going to the kitchen but from where I was sitting, I didn't see if he had spoken to Phelokazi and her friends. While he was in the kitchen I didn't hear any commotion or arguments. After about 10 minutes I saw him leave the house, he said.
Ngalo said Mqathanya had gone outside, apparently to get a lighter for her cigarettes. About 20 minutes later he went out to buy more alcohol and that's when he saw her lifeless body lying outside on the corner of his home.
Ngalo testified that he did not see Ngadleka or anyone else at the scene.
Ngadleka's legal aid lawyer argued that the State's witness did not place his client at the crime scene nor did he see any communication happen between his client and the deceased.
The lawyer said it was unfortunate and unfair for Ngadleka to be behind bars when there was no evidence proving that he had committed the crime.
It was revealed in court that the state was meant to call a second witness to testify, but had not been able to find her.
The investigating officer has on numerous occasions visited the second witness's home but she was not there. The investigating officer was later told by the witness's mother that she is working on a farm in Malmesbury but her mother didn't know which farm, the prosecutor told the court. It was alleged that this was the witness who had seen the accused leaving the crime scene.
The magistrate ruled that the State had failed to produce tangible evidence that Ngadleka had killed Mqathanya. There is absolutely no evidence linking the accused to the offence, said the magistrate.
After the verdict, Free Gender's Funeka Soldaat said, This case was handled badly from the beginning which is why we are in this situation. Even at the last minute, we were the ones who had to go look for witnesses for this case. It is a very painful thing.
Phumeza Ndlwana, Mqathanya's sister, said, As a family we are not at peace. But then again that's how the South African justice system is. We will never be at peace.
I blame the police because they handled this case badly from the start. For instance, when we went to identify my sister's body, we were given her bloody clothes in a plastic bag and told to take them to the investigating officer at the police station. Weren't they meant to retrieve the clothes as evidence?
We went to the police station numerous times before going to the Eastern Cape for Phelokazi's funeral and each time we'd go we would be told that the investigating officer is not there, said Ndlwana.
Article by Mary-Anne Gontsana
This article was initially published on MAMBAonlie.com
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY Mambaonline.com
Financial freedom helps to reduce the burden of living from paycheck to paycheck. Read more here!
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
Murdered Khayelitsha: Family say justice system failed themThe man accused of fatally stabbing Phelokazi Mqathanya has been found not guilty by the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court.
