Wife of murdered official in court
The woman accused of fatally shooting her husband at their East London home last month will appear in court tomorrow for a formal bail application.
Bulelwa Ndudula, 44, made a brief appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday following her arrest on Saturday.
She is accused of killing Sakhekile Ndudula on the morning of September 14.
He was a chief of staff at the Eastern Cape department of social development.
The accused could not immediately apply for bail yesterday due to a congested court roll.
Her attorney, Simphiwe Mbabane, pressed for bail magistrate Nazeem Joemath to hear the bail application today.
However, this could not be granted as the case’s investigating officer, Captain Silulami Somkence, was in Port Elizabeth on an unrelated case.
The matter was postponed to tomorrow and Ndudula was remanded in custody.
She was not asked to plead to the charge of murder that she faces.
The gallery was packed to capacity with family members from both the family of the deceased and that of the accused widow.
Although her family members were seated behind her, she made no attempt at eye contact with them and kept her face focused on the magistrate.
The woman tried on numerous occasions to hide her face from members of the media in the courtroom.
After the matter was postponed, members of her family were seen leaving the court before the husband’s family, who remained behind to speak to the investigating officer.
Ndudula is employed by the Eastern Cape Department of Education as a maths and choir teacher at RH Godlo Junior Primary School in Mdantsane.
Police arrested her at the home of her husband in Tsomo, while she was observing the grieving period after his death and burial.
Two weeks ago, her husband was shot eight times as he was preparing to leave home for work.
She had transported him to Life St Dominic’s Hospital where he was declared dead.
The incident was initially thought to have been a hit involving a number of unknown gunmen.
This was because at the time of his death, Sakhekile’s department was the subject of a Hawks investigation.
This is what led the Hawks to initially take over the murder docket – they suspected it could have been a political hit.
This was until police discovered the scene of the crime had been tampered with. They also allege gunshot residue was found on her clothes.
The murder weapon has not been found. Investigations are continuing. — zwangam@dispatch. co.za