Johannesburg- The father of the deceased University of Fort Hare student Nosicelo Mtebeni whose dismembered body parts were found in a suitcase and some in rubbish bags broke down at East London High Court as the man who murdered her daughter Alutha Pasile asked for forgiveness.
Kholisile Mtebeni was testifying during the state pre-sentencing arguments after Pasile pleaded guilty to the murder of Mtebeni’s daughter Nosicelo and to trying to defeat the ends of justice after putting her dismembered body parts in a suitcase and rubbish bags.
His 23-year-old daughter Nosicelo was found dead on the 19th August with her dismembered body parts shoved in a suitcase and other parts were found in rubbish bags. She was doing her final year of studying towards the LLB degree at the University of Fort Hare.
Mtebeni told the court that the gruesome murder of his daughter affected his health and the lives of Nosicelo’s siblings.
He said, “I cannot describe how badly hurt I am. I have fainted twice after Nosicelo’s funeral. The doctors said it is because of stress and heartache.”
After the state completed to lead evidence with Mtebeni, it was the defence lawyer, Ncumisa Dyantyi’s to ask him questions but instead she read out a letter which had been written by Pasile on which he was seeking forgiveness.
Presiding judge Nomathamsanqa Beshe asked if Mtebeni wanted to say something.
In response Mtebeni said he cannot forgive him because his apology does not sound genuine because he waited until the matter was in court. It was during those words that he broke down into tears, forcing judge Beshe to adjourn the hearing for a few minutes. Mtebeni said he does not accept Pasile’s apology. “I will never forgive him because I will never see my daughter again while he and his parents continue to see each other,” said Mtebeni.
Earlier in the court, a video of Pasile shopping for DIY tools the day after he murdered Mtebeni was played.
The detective who cracked the case, sergeant Mbulelo Njoli said Pasile was walking like nothing wrong happened.
The state prosecutor Nicky Turner said while the minimum sentence for someone who has pleaded guilty on the matter is 15 years imprisonment, it is seeking diversion for a harsher sentence.
It is clear with the evidence that the state led that it seeks to prove that Pasile was not remorseful and that he confessed to the crime because he was caught.
The state also called Dr Solomon Zondi who performed an autopsy on Mtebeni’s lifeless body. Dr Zondi said a massive force was used to push Matebeni against the wall and that resulted in injuries to her skull. He said her neck was dislodged from its normal position.
Pasile admitted to pushing Mtebeni so hard against the wall and after that she fell with her face to the ground.
The matter was postponed to Thursday 2nd of December for the defence to present evaluation report on Pasile.
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