Ayanda “Mpiriri” Matika, the man accused of killing his girlfriend, businesswoman Busisiwe Ngwadla, opted against applying for bail when he appeared in a packed East London magistrate’s court on Monday.
The 50-year-old was arrested in Cape Town last week and then transferred to East London, to answer to the murder charge.
During his brief court appearance, a visibly calm Matika, told the court through his legal representative, Unathi Mgolombana, that he would not apply for bail. No reason was given in court.
Politicians and residents packed magistrate Rochelle Sam’s courtroom, while there was also a heavy police presence.
Sam postponed the case to May 15 for further investigations.
Outside the courthouse, Ngwadla’s 16-year-old son, Cwenga, family and supporters dressed in ANC regalia hoisted placards demanding that the suspect be denied bail.
Cwenga said: “It has not been easy to live without my mother these past few weeks, but I am learning to carry on without her. The man who brutally killed her must spend the rest of his life in prison. Justice must be served for my mother.”
Ngwadla’s brother, Thabo Ngwadla, said gender-based violence in the country continued to rob many families of their loved ones.
“Violence against women must stop. We must not hide perpetrators; we must bring them forward because what has happened to us can also happen to any family tomorrow.
“We ask for unity; crime in SA is on another level. We ask the department of justice to do us a favour and make sure that my sister’s killer must rot in jail and never come out of prison.”
He said the death of his sister had left a void in the family.
“My parents are still hurting; her son is still young and still needs a mother’s love. It is not easy to grow up without a mother. This has caused sleeplessness nights for us.”
National convener of the ANC Women’s League – young women’s desk, Precious Banda, urged people to report abuse to police.
“Even if it is your husband or son who is abusing another woman, you must report him because no woman deserves to go through what Busi went through” she said.
Provincial legislature deputy speaker, Mlibo Qoboshiyane, echoed the same sentiments, adding that no woman deserved to die like Ngwadla, who was found lying in a pool of blood at her Emerald Sky Flats in Amalinda in February.
She had been stabbed eight times...