Black Widow 'generous'

Almost six years after acting judge Patrick Maqubela was killed by his wife, the process of sentencing her resumed in the Cape High Court yesterday.

Sentencing procedures came to a halt last year when Thandi Maqubela acted strangely and spoke of her husband as if he were still alive. Judge John Murphy ordered that she be evaluated by the district surgeon. The usually stylish Maqubela also raised eyebrows because she dressed in takkies and a tracksuit.

Yesterday, she was back to herself, dressed in a black blazer, headscarf and sunglasses. Prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo said a panel of psychiatrists had declared Maqubela fit to continue with court proceedings.

Her counsel, advocate Thomas Tyler, called three witnesses to testify in mitigation of sentence.

One was her former domestic worker and nanny Nokwanda Gonyela, who said Maqubela had been a generous employer.

Gonyela began working for the Maqubelas when their youngest child, now 20 years old, was just nine months old. She said she had never seen the couple argue.

"I only saw them as people who were in love with each other," said Gonyela.

Maqubela's friend Thuli Mzamane also took the stand. She said Maqubela, a former nurse, was passionate about the health of the vulnerable and had initiated an HIV/Aids outreach programme, among other things.

Mzamane said her friend was a "deeply religious" Jehovah's Witness, caring and vibrant.

But when Mzamane had seen her after her arrest she was a different woman.

"She lost a lot of weight, she didn't look like the same Thandi. Thandi is a jovial person and we would always laugh. She was subdued and she didn't look happy," said Mzamane.

Maqubela, dubbed "The Black Widow", was convicted in 2013 of killing her husband and forging his signature on a will that named her as his sole beneficiary.

Sentencing continues.