Sindisiwe Manqele served seven of her 12-year sentence for murdering the late Nkululeko ‘Flabba’ Habedi, and on Tuesday, she was released on parole.
Sindisiwe Manqele: Flabba murderer released on parole
In a statement, Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed that after undergoing the parole application process, Manqele was deemed to be rehabilitated enough to serve the rest of her sentence outside the confines of prison.
“Manqele takes responsibility for the offence she committed and is remorseful about it. She completed all the identified programmes as per her Correctional Sentence Plan and participated in the victim-offender dialogue in 2018,” Nxumalo explained.
The department of corrections added that Manqele would be under strict supervision for the remaining five years of her sentence. She will be assigned a parole officer whom she must report at scheduled times.
It remains unclear, however, if the convicted murderer will be on house arrest.
“Parole placement forms part of the total rehabilitation programme in correcting offending behaviour and may include continuation of programmes aimed at reintegration while in the system of community corrections,” Nxumalo added.
Manqele was sentenced by the Palm Ridge High Court, in March 2016, for her role in the murder of the Skwatta Kamp group member.
The 32-year-old killed Flabba with a single stab wound to the chest.
During her time in prison, Manqele was regarded as a model inmate. In 2018, she obtained an honours degree in Business Management from the University of South Africa, an achievement she reflected on in an eNCA as the first step towards righting her wrongs.
“There’s a lot of wrongs I need to right. This is me trying to make up for wrongs. I want to come out and be a better person do better and live a better life.
“I have also always been very passionate about education, I was studying before I got incarcerated. I’ve got siblings who look up to me, I have young cousins, nieces and nephews. Also I am a grandmother, these people look up to me,” he said at the time.