
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 ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Suitest's Test Automation Platform Simplifies Video Quality Assurance, Monitoring, and Device Certification Across the OTT Ecosystem
At IBC2026, Suitest, a...
13/08/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will have its key software solutions ready to demonstrate at SET Expo 2026 (18 20...
13/08/2026
Scripps Research has established the Peter K. Vogt Endowed Chair, a new faculty ...
13/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exp...
12/08/2026
Traditional live sports production has focused on creating the best possible pro...
12/08/2026
FOR-A will showcase a range of broadcast and production products at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, September 11-14), including software-based switching, A...
12/08/2026
The Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and EBU will host live demonstrations of NMOS BCP-008 Minimum Status Reporting at IBC2026 (September 11-14) on th...
12/08/2026
Dalet has announced Dalet Solution Suites, a portfolio of cloud-native solutions...
12/08/2026
Net Insight has announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live ...
12/08/2026
Zixi has appointed Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales. Stewart will be responsible for direct sales and partnerships, with a focus on broadcasters, medi...
12/08/2026
LiveU's LU900Q intelligent production unit was deployed as part of the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23-August 2, 2026). Host broa...
12/08/2026
Disney , ESPN, and Formula E have announced a multi-year deal bringing all Formula E races to Disney and ESPN in the U.S. and to Disney in most international...
12/08/2026
PSSI has launched X-LIVE, a managed service offering dedicated engineering resources and Appear encoding infrastructure for live event signal processing and tra...
12/08/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League Summer Season reached 18.3 million unique live viewers across three stops on ABC and ESPN, a 78.5% increase compared to the...
12/08/2026
BBright will showcase an expanded IP-Gateway at IBC2026, adding support for all RIST profiles to its existing support for MPEG Transport Stream over IP with SMP...
12/08/2026
BBright will demonstrate EBU OGraf animated graphics support in its software-bas...
12/08/2026
Interra Systems will demonstrate its ORION, BATON, BATON Captions, and VEGA solutions at SET Expo 2026 (August 17-20, Distrito Anhembi, S o Paulo) at partner Li...
12/08/2026
DPA Microphones has appointed Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager. In the role, Contreras will oversee sales and customer relationships througho...
12/08/2026
Live spectacles ranging from the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup to the Oscars and...
12/08/2026
Writer-Director Andrius Bla evi ius and crew attend the premiere of How to Divorce During the War at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park City, UT. (P...
12/08/2026
Enhanced DAW & plug-in control for the UC1, UF8 and UF1
The software that powers SSL's range of control surfaces has just received a major update that d...
12/08/2026
In-line preamp features one-knob EQ
In addition to their range of in-line preamps, Triton Audio recently managed to squeeze a compressor into an enclosure t...
12/08/2026
Captures system audio with or without a DAW
Depending on your setup, capturing system audio in a DAW can be a tedious process, so much so that Arvital Audio...
12/08/2026
2026 NATIONAL NAIDOC AWARDS TO BROADCAST ON NITV LIVE AND DIRECT FROM MPARNTWE
12 August, 2026
Media releases
First Nations excellence will be celebrated l...
12/08/2026
More than six million sports fans stay with SBS for Tour de France and Tour de F...
12/08/2026
Nielsen is cementing Digital Ad Intel as the new go-to currency for digital ad intelligence in Brazil-now with streaming monitoring in the mix.
S o Paulo, Augu...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
As Matrox Video celebrates 50 years of trusted innovation, the company will showcase its portfolio of interoperable IP technologies and software-defined innovat...
12/08/2026
SMPTE, the home of media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced a program of expert-led sessions, professional workshops and networking eve...
12/08/2026
Berklee Announces Full Details for Inaugural Block Party, a Music Festival Next ...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Matthews Studio Equipment introduces T-Go Mounting Solutions extreme camera rigging systems, engineered for the most demanding environments in motion picture pr...
12/08/2026
Anton/Bauer, a Videndum brand and the industry leader in mobile power solutions for broadcast and cinematic production, announces that the EDEN Mobile Power Sta...
12/08/2026
TAG Video Systems, the global leader in software-based IP monitoring and multiviewer solutions, today announced a memory usage optimization that lowers the tota...
12/08/2026
Unified Streaming announces Trusted Media, a new solution that enables broadcasters, streaming platforms, and premium content owners to attach verifiable authen...
12/08/2026
Combining intelligent automation, composable business services and user-centric experiences
The media industry is entering a new phase where AI intelligence is...
12/08/2026
DPA Microphones welcomes Raul Contreras as its new West Coast Regional Sales Manager. In this role, Contreras will oversee sales and customer relationships thro...