Convicted murderer Sindisiwe Manqele has secured a job as legal researcher as she continues to rebuild her life a year after her release from prison.
Manqele was sentenced to 12 years in jail for stabbing her boyfriend Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi, a Skwatta Kamp rapper, to death in March 2015 following an alleged domestic violence incident.
It has been over a year since she was released from the Johannesburg Correctional Centre on parole after serving six years of her 12-year sentence.
She told Sunday World this week that she is also looking forward to completing her law degree at the end of 2023 and graduate.
Manqele said she is pushing to build a life of herself regardless of judgement and being bad-mouthed by people for Habedi’s death at his home in Alexandra, north of Joburg.
“I was supposed to finish my degree last year but I struggled a bit with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder],” she said.
“I am a final-year student and I will finally graduate this year, but I am also an intern for a law firm in Midrand trying to get a bit of experience so that when I start working [after graduating], I would know what I am doing,” she said.
Manqele said she has been working on the job for over a year, as she continues with her legal studies which she started while still in prison.
“I have been out of the workforce for six years, so I wanted to just do something and be able to get experience and wake up in the morning and keep busy,” she said.
She was released on parole in May 2022 following a decision by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board.
The Department of Correctional Services said at the time that Manqele was set free after the board assessed her profile as submitted by the case management committee and other material presented for purposes of parole consideration.
She said life has not been easy, but she is thankful for the support she received from friends and family.
“Life is going as alright as it can. I am trying. My family is very supportive, I am having a good support structure,” she said.
“Nothing major has been happening, but this is just life and it is just going okay.”
She added that adjusting from being out of prison has been a mission, because she had to learn how to be social and be around people again.
“I find that I can’t go out anymore. I find it odd and that I am not social at all anymore.”
Manqele said she is yet to lay her soul bare about the events on the night of Habedi’s death in a documentary which is yet to be released.
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