Noby wife wants political probe

2008-05-12 21:31

Bloemfontein - The wife of murdered senior Free State official Noby Ngombane asked a judicial inquiry on Monday to investigate issues involving her husband's political life in an effort to find answers to his death.

Nokwanda Ngombane believes Noby was murdered by political enemies in 2005.

"Indeed, I do believe that Noby was killed by his political enemies," she replied to a question from her legal counsel, Willem Edeling.

Ngombane, a senior official in Premier Beatrice Marshoff's office and adviser to two former premiers, was shot at his Hillsboro home in Bloemfontein on March 22 2005 and died in hospital.

Nokwanda, her brother and sister, Bongani and Thandiswa, and two cousins, Vuyokazi Mlambo and Sephumle Booi, were arrested soon after and faced charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice separately and jointly.

'Interim structure'

They were all at the house on the night of the murder. However, all charges against them were withdrawn in Bloemfontein High Court in September 2006.

Nokwanda testified that things started going wrong for Noby when he was appointed as chief co-ordinator of the African National Congress's interim leadership structure in about 2000.

She summed up the feelings towards this as "some people were not happy with the interim structure".

Nokwanda said the years after this could be seen as the most successful and painful time of Noby's life.

About this time, Ngombane became the head of the Free State Department of Tourism, Environmental and Economic Affairs.

Nokwanda testified that he found the department in "a bad state" due to financial mismanagement and corruption.

This eventually led to "much tension and infighting" and a "slinging match" between Noby and the then-MEC of the department, Sakhiwe Belot.

Nokwanda said her husband had been branded on various occasions as a "power monger" and that he thought himself better than others, which she denied.

This continued after he joined a special policy monitoring unit in Marshoff's office.

Other motives for his killing

She said all these accusations were a result of the "relationship" between Noby and the African National Congress which had "saddened" him specifically because no one stood by his side.

Nokwanda said that after Noby's death she urged police to discuss the relationship between the ANC and Noby, in an effort to understand it, with Marshoff.

When asked by her legal counsel if all these things created other motives for his death, Nokwanda agreed. "Certainly, your worship."

Nokwanda was expected to be cross-examined by the state on Tuesday.

- SAPA