Murder accused Sibusiso Kula, the ANC member of parliament, spent another night in a prison cell on Tuesday for the alleged murder of his wife Jennifer Motlhomi.
This after Kula was denied bail by the Orkney magistrate’s court in the North West earlier in the day.
It is alleged that Kula murdered his wife after her body was discovered in what seemed like a robbery gone wrong in November 2022.
According to police reports, Motlhomi sustained a stab wound to the back, however, the object used to commit the crime was not found at the crime scene.
Henry Mamothame, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said the 34-year-old Kula was linked to the alleged murder by police investigations, which led to his arrest on January 20.
“Police reports reveal that Kula’s wife was found murdered on 27 November 2022 in what seemed like a robbery,” said Mamothame.
“She was found with a stab wound on her back but the object that was used for her alleged murder has not been recovered.
“The matter was reported by the medical facility where she was allegedly transported by the accused to receive medical attention. He told the police [at the time] that he was not present at his home when the incident occurred.”
Delivering the bail judgment, magistrate Liesl Esterhuizen said Kula was a possible flight risk and most likely to tamper with evidence, influence or intimidate witnesses.
The case has been postponed to February 24 for further investigations.
The NPA welcomed the court’s decision to keep Kula in jail, saying it hopes the investigation into the matter will come to fruition soon.
“The NPA welcomes this judgment and hopes that investigations will be completed speedily for a trial to commence.
“Further to this, an application will be made at a later stage with the director of public prosecutions in North West for the matter to be transferred to a higher court, owing to its serious nature. Kula has registered his intention to appeal the judgment.”
Also read: ANC MP back in court on Friday for alleged murder of his wife
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