'Greedy' widow Thandi Maqubela jailed for 18 years

Disgraced businesswoman Thandi Maqubela’s age has saved her from spending the rest of her life in prison for killing her judge husband.

The Cape Town High Court has sentenced the 60-year-old to 18 years direct imprisonment. She was convicted of murdering Acting Judge Patrick Maqubela and for forging his signature on a will that declared her the sole beneficiary of his estate. Handing down sentence, Judge John Murphy said the humiliation that Maqubela had suffered during the trial and her age were mitigating factors.

“I also take into account that the accused is now 60 years old,” Murphy said. “The aim of the sentence is not to destroy the accused. Moreover, justice should be tempered with an element of mercy. I also accept that the accused has suffered public humiliation.”

Murphy said the state had failed to prove that Maqubela had conspired to kill her husband. He said the crimes she committed were driven by greed and she stood to benefit an addition R4.1-million from her husband’s estate had she succeeded.

Maqubela remained expressionless and police whisked her away.

According to the state, the acting judge was murdered on June 5, 2009. His body was found slumped in his bed in his upmarket flat in Sea Point, Cape Town, two days later.