An East London man accused of assaulting and fatally stabbing his girlfriend because she refused to give him money for alcohol was denied bail yesterday in the East London Magistrate’s Court.
The Scenery Park man, Monwabisi Ningiza, 40, was arrested on April 8. He had been on the run for a week after the death of his longtime partner, Nomthandazo Dlamini, 38, on April 1.
The court yesterday denied Ningiza bail, saying it feared for his life as the community in Scenery Park was baying for his blood.
Yesterday Ningiza appeared before bail court magistrate Joel Cesar who said it would be to his, and the state witnesses’ advantage, that he be denied bail.
Testifying against Ningiza’s bail application, arresting officer Detective Lundi Nqwelo said: “Community members were still angry with him and have threatened to deal with him, while state witnesses also feared for their lives should he be released on bail.”
Testifying about circumstances around Dlamini’s killing, Nqwelo told Cesar the couple had a heated quarrel on April 1, which later led to the fatal stabbing, over Dlamini’s refusal to give Ningiza money to buy more booze.
“ and were sitting together with their friends on the day of the incident and they were all drinking, except for a female friend who was also there.
“When their alcohol ran out, demanded more money from and when she refused to oblige a quarrel, which led to him assaulting her, ensued,” Nqwelo told the court.
He said at first the quarrel was interrupted by the female friends.
“But moments later, the accused was seen with a knife which he used to stab his girlfriend once in the back – a wound which proved to be deadly.”
Nqwelo told the court the female friend had tried to defuse the fight between the two and she screamed for help when she realised Dlamini has been stabbed.
“On hearing her screams some neighbours came out and ordered to look for a vehicle that could transport to hospital.
“A group of four of them, including , used a blanket to carry her to a taxi that was used to rush her to hospital. However, she was declared dead on their arrival at Frere Hospital,” related Nqwelo.
He told court that Ningiza was on the run for days following the incident and that he had lived with friends in Vincent, Beacon Bay and in Nompumelelo township.
“When I went to look for him, together with the deceased’s sister, at a Scenery Park tavern , he ran for his dear life when he saw police vehicles approaching.
“In Vincent, where he later hid, we were told that when people advised him to hand himself over, he refused, while I stopped searching for him with the deceased’s sister after she had threatened to deal with him if she could lay her hands on him,” he told court.
Ningiza was finally arrested at Nompumelelo township in Beacon Bay a week after the incident.
During the bail hearing, there was a heated verbal exchange between Nqwelo and Ningiza’s legal aid attorney Vuyiseka Kani, over how Nqwelo was responding to Kani’s questions.
They told each other several times that the other’s listening skills were not up to scratch. — asandan@dispatch.co.za