Witbank lawyer accused of killing husband walks after state witness dies

The case against lawyer Itumeleng Makhalemele-Maseko, who was accused of killing her businessman husband Caswell Maseko, was withdrawn in the Witbank magistrate's court on Friday.

"The accused was facing one count of murder which happened on September 1 2018 and was out on bail. The withdrawal of charges comes after the death of a state witness in the case," said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.

Nyuswa said the state witness died in a car accident.

She could not immediately disclose who the witness was or what the circumstances around the accident were. 

"An inquest docket is still to be investigated," Nyuswa said.

Makhalemele-Maseko was arrested in 2018 after several days on the run.

This was after her husband was stabbed during an altercation at their home in Witbank.

According to the Sowetan, the 26-year-old woman and a friend were allegedly assaulted by Maseko after they arrived home in the early hours of the morning.

The paper quoted a security guard at the residential complex where the couple lived.

The guard said the couple had a heated argument after arriving home in separate cars  around 3am.

"The wife and her friend drove into the complex first and the husband came 20-30 minutes later," the guard said.

A short while later, the wife's friend came to the gate to inform them that the couple was fighting, said the security guard.

The guard said he called a response team and saw Makhalemele-Maseko driving out of the complex. Maseko was found stabbed afterwards.

Makhalemele-Maseko, who had two children with the well-known businessman, eventually handed herself over to police.

She spent several days in police custody before she secured bail.