A Xolani woman charged with the murder of her boyfriend broke down in court as she relived the day she stabbed her boyfriend in his room last year.
A Xolani woman charged with the murder of her boyfriend broke down in court as she relived the day she stabbed her boyfriend in his room last year.
Ntombomzi Smile has pleaded not guilty to killing her boyfriend, Nonzube Street resident Bonakele 'Ta Soul' Ngqiyaza.
Smile took the stand in the murder trial this week and, pleading not guilty to the murder charges, said she had stabbed Ngqiyaza in self defence.
Appearing in the Grahamstown Regional Court dressed in jeans and a white shirt, the 31-year-old said Ngqiyaza had started assaulting her after she refused to have sex with him on the night of 25 July last year.
She said an infuriated Ngqiyaza swore at her, calling her names as he punched her with his fists and tried to strangle her.
A short while into the fight, Smile claims, Ngqiyaza took a stick and started beating her with it before she managed to overpower him and get the stick from him.
She told the court she threw the stick away as they continued to struggle. At this point, she said, Ngqiyaza grabbed a knife on a table next to his bed and tried to stab her; however, she held on to the hand carrying the knife.
They continued to fight for possession of the knife. Smile said she eventually managed to overpower Ngqiyaza and gained possession of the knife.
She told the court that she stabbed Ngqiyaza once in the chest.
She said she pushed him away and he fell down next to the bed. Smile said she ran out of the back room, straight into the main house where Ngqiyaza's mother and other relatives were at the time.
Smile said at this point she was crying and calling for help, because she thought Ngqiyaza might get up and chase her.
She said she told Ngqiyaza's mother that she had been calling Ngqiyaza's name and he hadn't responded.
Under cross-examination, Smile told the court she had bruises all over her thighs and legs after the incident as a result of being hit with the stick by Ngqiyaza, but admitted she had not sustained any stab wounds from the fight.
Smile said she Ngqiyaza pinned her to the bed as he assaulted her.
It was in this position that she managed to gain possession of the knife and stab him in the chest.
She said she couldn't remember how many times she had stabbed him.
State prosecutor Mandisi Gwatyuza told Smile that he would argue that Ngqiyaza was not on top of her when she stabbed him.
He said the post-mortem results would show that Ngqiyaza had been stabbed repeatedly.
At this point, Smile broke down in tears and the court had to adjourn for an early lunch.
When asked by Gwatyuza to indicate the approximate distance between her chest and Ngqiyaza's when she stabbed him, she indicated that his chest had been around 30cm from hers.
Magistrate Ronny Lesele advised Smile to refrain from giving long-winded answers during cross-examination, asking her to stop being evasive.
After lunch, when Lesele asked how Smile how she was feeling, she told the court she was not ready to continue.
She said she was stressed and asked for the trial to be postponed to Monday 19 January.
However, Gwatyuza argued that she was not qualified to make that decision.
Her attorney then requested a postponement until Monday.
When granting the postponement, Lesele said the defence had applied for a postponement because Smile was not in the right frame of mind to continue with the trial.
Lesele said the court had observed Smile weeping in court during repeated cross-examination.
He said he was of the view that one day was not unreasonable for Smile to collect herself and return to court on Monday, when the trial continues.
Smile was one of two murder suspects chased out of Xolani by angry residents in October last year.
