Leonard Nematea, the 27-year-old suspect arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, was granted bail by the Mutale Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 21 November.
Nematea appeared before Magistrate Theodore Mathivha last Tuesday, but judgment on his bail application was only delivered on Thursday afternoon. His bail was set at R6,000.
It is alleged that in July, Nematea had called his ex-wife and asked to meet her outside her parents' home to discuss matters concerning their child. She agreed, but shortly afterwards, she was allegedly stabbed to death with a sharp object. Police have not yet recovered the weapon used in the crime.
Nematea was represented in court by Legal Aid advocate Thavhiwa Ramavhea, who argued that his client had a five-year-old child to support. Nematea, who works for a well-known funeral parlour in Vhembe District, earns R2,000 a month. Ramavhea told the court that Nematea had no relatives or assets outside the country and would not evade trial if granted bail.
Ramavhea further argued that Nematea had handed himself over to the police and had not attempted to flee. He said that if released on bail, Nematea would relocate to Tshikombani to live with his sister.
However, the state's witness, Vhamusanda Vho Samuel Ramuvhundu, headman of Thongwe village where the incident occurred, contested this claim. Ramuvhundu testified that villagers were enraged by the murder and had been searching for Nematea, threatening to retaliate.
"After he (allegedly) committed the murder, villagers started looking for him, saying they wanted to do to him what he did to the deceased," said Ramuvhundu. "The suspect ran to the police station to save himself. It is a lie that he handed himself over to the police. The truth is that he went there for protection from members of the community."
When delivering judgment, Magistrate Mathivha stated that there was no clear evidence linking Nematea to the murder and that the case might take a long time to conclude.
Nematea's bail conditions include relocating to Tshikombani village. The case has been postponed to 13 January.