Anger as wife accused of husband's murder gets bail

Some of the people who attended the court case of a woman accused of hiring hitmen to kill her metro police officer husband reacted with anger when she was granted bail on Monday.

They banged the door as they hurried out of the courtroom, while the family of the murdered man, Banele Skosana, said they were disappointed the woman, Sibongile Dlamini, had been granted bail.

Speaking outside the Springs magistrate’s court, Skosana’s brother, Lunga Skosana, said: “We are extremely disappointed, but there is nothing we can do. The law is taking its course, but we believe the police have worked hard and have a strong case against the accused. We will keep coming here as a family because we want to see justice for Banele.”

Magistrate Pravina Lazarus granted Dlamini R10,000 bail, saying she had advanced exceptional circumstances as to why she should be released.

Dlamini said she has a 15-year-old child who is physically and mentally disabled and needs her constant attention as she is the child’s primary caregiver.

Lazarus said the rights of children as stated in the constitution were paramount but not absolute, and that she needed to weigh them against the evidence in the matter.

She said according to evidence and medical records, Dlamini was not the child’s primary caregiver but that the grandmother was.

However, she said it was clear “that the child needs his mother’s care and attention to survive”.

“This court therefore finds that exceptional circumstances have been shown and it is in the best interest of the child and justice to grant the applicant bail,” Lazarus said.

Accused number one, Ntliziyozabantu Magwanyana, abandoned his bail application because he has another pending case in Soweto and is waiting to hear the outcome of that matter.

Dlamini and Magwanyana, the alleged gunman, are accused of killing 33-year-old Skosana on February 7. Skosana was allegedly approached by two men who shot him and died at the scene.

The two are charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Dlamini, 42, was arrested on Valentine’s Day, just hours before her husband’s burial.

The media is not allowed to show images of the accused as a third suspect is still at large and an identity parade is yet to be conducted.

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