Sibusiso Zitha, the man accused of murdering pastry princess Chef Thembekile Letlape, was denied bail on Thursday.
On Thursday morning, Zitha appeared at the Randburg magistrate’s court, where he had requested bail earlier this month, stating that he needed to close his business before being sentenced.
But according to the magistrate, he failed to reveal the nature of his company or whether he had any business partners.
Consequently, the court ruled that he could grant his lawyer the authority to manage his estate on his behalf because he has a legal representative.
Zitha testified in court that Letlape confronted him while he was reading a book and sipping wine on the patio the day of the murder.
According to him, Letlape yelled and made derogatory comments about his deceased parents.
Zitha stated in his confession that Letlape experienced mood swings and depression.
They were both intoxicated the entire day of the murder, and Letlape’s mood deteriorated as the hours went by, he said.
Threatened with a knife
After failing to defuse the situation by throwing a glass of water in her face, Zitha admitted that he grabbed a knife and threatened to stab her.
Also in the house was his daughter, who is ten years old.
He told the child that they were fighting and she needed to return to her mother’s house after she asked him why he was covered in blood.
“I did not want my daughter to see the body and so I moved it to the garage, and I mopped away the blood at the door.”
Zitha then drove to her child’s mother’s house and told her what had happened.
At her house, he changed his clothes as well, and the two of them then drove back to the scene of the crime.
“She was my ex-girlfriend, and we have a good relationship. She understands me. That is why I asked her to drive back with me,” he said.
“I showed her the body, and she was shocked and said I must hand myself over.”
DPP wants more details
The magistrate denied Zitha bail because his 10-year-old daughter is one of the primary witnesses in his case, and she believes he may try to influence or change her statement.
The case has been rescheduled for November 12 in order to give the director of public prosecutions (DPP) time to decide what they want to do next.
Nthabiseng Dubazana, Zitha’s lawyer, told Sunday World that despite the confession, it appears the DPP is not totally satisfied and wants more details.
“There are more investigations that are still happening, it is a long list where they need to check off certain things,” said Dubazana.
“Once we have the indictment then we will know if they will make an application to the high court, or the matter be transferred there.”
Also Read: ‘I killed chef Letlape because of drugs, alcohol and stress’
