Maditla wants life imprisonment

Earlier this week the Klarinet mother accused of murdering her four children broke down in court and for the first time showed emotion.

Although Zinhle Maditla was pleading for leniency on Tuesday, September 17, she said she wants to spend the rest of her life in prison for what she had done.

She said betrayal and heartbreak drove her to commit the murders.

Dressed in a long, pink dress, which her mother, Ms Beulah Martin, gave her last week Monday, September 9 during her first appearance in the High Court in Middelburg, a soft-spoken Maditla tried hard to hold back her tears when she apologised to her family and the fathers of her four children.

She told the court she had a fight with her boyfriend who is also the father of two of her children, after which she decided to end her life and those of her children.

Maditla said she went to confront the father of two of the children about why he hadn’t bought them clothes for Christmas, but she found him with another woman at his grandmother’s house.

She said he assaulted her after she confronted him and his grandmother chased her out of the house.

Maditla then left but said she was so distraught that on her way home she bought rat poison from a hawker.

At home, she mixed the poison with atchar and gave it to the eight-year-old Minenhle, Blessing (7) and Shaniqua (3).

She then mixed the poison with yogurt and smeared it on her breast and breastfed 11-month-old Ettiene.

Maditla told the court that she was inside the room they rented in Klarinet when she heard Minenhle cry.

When she went outside, she consoled her daughter and took her inside.

A little later Blessing came in complaining of a severe headache.

She told the children to lie down and she went to a spaza shop to buy Disprins.

When she came back, her children had stopped breathing.

According to her she then spent time outside sitting on a chair only to return later and cover the bodies with a blanket.

She then went out with a friend.

The state argued that Maditla had several opportunities to save the children.

“She let the children die a painful death. There are no factors presented to deviate from the normal minimum sentence of life,” said advocate Ntsika Mpolweni.

When Mpolweni asked Maditla why she did not tell anyone the next day, she replied, “I sat with them the whole day, wiping the white substance that ran out of their mouths. I waited because I thought they would awake.”

Ms Sindisizwe Msiza, a social worker in her pre-sentence report said Maditla’s children became victims of a mother who was supposed to love, support and nurture them.

Msiza testified that Maditla struggles to express her feelings and said during the fallout with her boyfriend she was emotional.

“We had to stop the consultation and continue later due to her crying,” Msiza said.

Msiza also testified that Maditla is unable to make informed choices and has poor decision-making skills.

Mpolweni said Maditla only reported the murder when she realized people discovered what she had done.

Ms Martin phoned Maditla while she was on her way to a friend’s house and said there were a lot of flies in her room and enquired about the whereabouts of the children.

Maditla said she bought more poison and consumed it before she handed herself over at Vosman Police Station.

Mr Kevin Balance who stepped up as spokesperson for the family said they had forgiven her, but justice still needs to be served, “Her mother is trying to be strong and as a family, we need justice to get served and Zinhle to learn a lesson, but the court must not sentence her and throw the keys away. She must not die in jail. We would love to see her back at home if rehabilitated.”

Sentencing will be heard on Friday.