Isibaya actress Zinhle Mabena is in police custody and faces charges related to conspiracy to commit murder.
Watch: Zinhle Mabena husband ambushed at petrol station
As reported by Sowetan, Gauteng police swooped in on the 29-year-old on Tuesday, bringing a close to an investigation that was launched in late January, after her husband Robert Ngwenya was ambushed at a petrol station in Centurion.
Video footage taken from the incident has surfaced on social media and shows the moments leading up to the shooting that claimed the life of Ngwenya’s bodyguard.
Video of Zinhle Mabena (Sihle – Isibaya) husband's car being shot at. pic.twitter.com/PkaiWyA09n
— K U L A N I (@kulanicool) February 17, 2021
Miraculously, Mabena’s husband survived the hail of bullets that came from AK47 assault rifles. According to police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele, early indications into the attempted hit point at the Isibaya actress as the alleged mastermind.
“Following an intensive investigation into the shooting incident that happened on 28 January 2021, police found evidence that linked the woman to the attempted murder and murder,” Capt. Makhubele wrote in a statement.
Mabena appeared briefly before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court where her conspiracy to commit murder charge was registered. No further updates were received on the outcome of her appearance when this article was published.
This isn’t the first murder attempt on Ngwenya
If investigators are spot-on about Ngwenya’s alleged murder plot, then Mabena’s budding acting career could be in the dumps. However, a deeper look into the couple’s past may hold clues about January’s assassination attempt.
As it turns out, this is not the first attempt on Ngwenya’s life. In 2018, the elusive husband was allegedly ambushed by three armed men who, despite their attempts, failed to hit their target.
“They wanted to kill me, but I won’t give them the satisfaction that I’m scared of them. The law must take its course, as these killings of comrades by other comrades have been going on for a while now,“ Ngwenya told Sunday Sun in an interview.
Whether the previous attempts on his life were orchestrated by the actress is a question that will be thoroughly unpacked at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
From what we understand, Mabena has refuted all charges levelled against her.