Return Of The ‘Black Widow'

Thandi Maqubela could soon be out on parole – and might be getting ready to fight for a share of her late husband’s estate.

- Kaizer Ngwenya

IT HAS all the juicy ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster – sex, lies, infidelity, greed, blackmail and a murder trial.

The lead characters – respected acting judge Patrick Maqubela and his high-flying businesswoman and socialite wife, Thandi – appeared to

have it all. They had fabulous houses in some of South Africa’s wealthiest areas, packed wardrobes, gleaming cars and enviable holidays.

Then in 2009 the judge is found dead in his apartment in Cape Town’s swanky Bantry Bay and his estranged wife is the prime suspect.

The prosecution believes the judge was suffocated to death and his estranged wife – dubbed the Black Widow by the local media – is sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2015.

Case closed, right? Fast-forward two years and Thandi Maqubela’s lawyers succeed in getting the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein to overturn the murder sentence against their client.

Although the prosecution believed the acting judge was suffocated, the cause of death was never conclusively proven and on 29 September the SCA acquitted Thandi (62) of murder. The court found he probably died of natural causes.

Now, with the murder charge off the table, a new battle begins as the family scrambles for the dead judge’s estate.

During the murder trial – when Thandi made headlines for arriving at court in a non-stop parade of swirling turbans and designer sunglasses – it was revealed the acting judge died insolvent due to his enormous debt.

But he had life insurance to the tune of R12 million. And with Thandi off the hook for murder, she could lay claim to a chunk of the insurance money.