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The Butterworth Magistrate’s Court refused bail to Yibanathi Ndema (43) who is charged with premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice.
It is alleged that Ndema killed his wife, Noluvuyo Nkwelo (36) at their home at Zingqayi locality in Butterworth on July 1, 2019.
According to the Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Luxolo Tyhali, on July 3, 2019 he reported his wife as a missing person to the police, even though he knew that was not true.
Tyhali said the husband was arrested in August this year after the deceased’s remains were found buried underneath a bathtub in the bathroom of the house the couple shared.
“The couple’s children alerted their grandparents that since their mother’s disappearance, the bath tub had been repositioned. That prompted the police to search Ndema’s home, leading to the discovery of the remains buried along with hospital cards and pregnancy results bearing the names of the deceased,” said Tyhali.
He added that DNA results had confirmed that the remains are indeed those of the deceased and had been since released to her family for proper burial.
Tyhali said when Ndema made his second appearance in September, he abandoned bail but at a later stage he made a U-turn. His attorney contended that the charge is a schedule 5 offence, meaning it was not premeditated murder.
“Ndema also distanced himself from a confession he made to the police admitting that he had murdered his wife because she was having an extramarital affair. The Prosecutor, Andile Tembani submitted a confirmation from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to the effect that the Ndema’s alleged offence is a schedule 6 offence, which was accepted by the court.”
It transpired during Ndema’s application that his wife once opened a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm against him, and was granted a protection order in January 2019. Both the case and the protection order were later withdrawn.
Delivering judgement on bail, Magistrate Lundi Qangule agreed with the prosecutor that releasing him on bail would not be in the interest of justice and society.
“He stated that Ndema failed to show exceptional circumstances permitting his release on bail, as required in a bail application for a Schedule 6 Offence. The court also found that the state has a strong case for the accused to answer.”
The case has been postponed to January 17, 2022 for further investigation and the High Court date to be arranged.
