/ 31 March 2015

‘Delusional’ Thandi Maqubela sentenced to 18 years

The complex judgment of Thandi Maqubela and her business partner is over 220 pages long
The complex judgment of Thandi Maqubela and her business partner is over 220 pages long

Convicted killer Thandi Maqubela was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Western Cape High Court.

Judge John Murphy sentenced Maqubela to 15 years for the murder of her husband acting judge Patrick Maqubela and three years for forgery and three years for fraud. “[The sentences for forgery and fraud] … are ordered to run concurrently, with the result that the accused is sentenced to an effective term of 18 years in prison,” Murphy said. Patrick Maqubela, who worked in the Western Cape High Court, was murdered in his Sea Point, Cape Town, flat in 2009.

Deceptive, fraudulent conduct
Judge John Murphy said: “She displayed contradictory behavioural traits and tendencies. The evidence shows beyond all doubt, her proclivity towards deception, fraudulent conduct, and an almost delusional tendency to fabricate, aimed unrealistically at self-preservation and advancement.”

Maqubela had suffered humiliation as a result of her husband’s infidelities and behaviour. “Constant humiliation caused her to bring him more harm to his reputation by exposing his infidelities to the media and to then justice minister Jeff Radebe,” Murphy said. The acting judge’s decision to request a divorce was the ultimate humiliation, he said. – Sapa