MBABANE – In a shocking discovery, the late Sifiso Simelane was allegedly married and his wife claims tohave been forced into ‘exile’ by circumstances.Lebo Lesoli, from Lesotho, is back in the country to demand what she claims rightfully belongs to her.Lesoli is not new in the local limelight as she once rand a successful entertainment spot at Gables formerly known as the Pub n Grill.
However, it remains a mystery as to why nowhere has she been mentioned in the ongoing ‘drama’ regarding the estate of his late husband.The businessman was brutally murdered in the early hours of January 23, 2024. The killers slit his throat open and this was after they had robbed him and his family of various items, including a car (a BMW sedan, which they later dumped at Luyengo) and money which was in his safe and bank, among other things. After killing him, they dumped his body in a forest around Malkerns.
In an exclusive interview with the Independent News team, the estranged wife categorically states that she is here to spill the beans on what she was made to endure and also get what rightfully and legally belongs to her as she was constitutionally married to the deceased.“There are too many things happening in Swaziland, after my husband was killed, it seems everyone is fighting over what is rightfully mine.”
“This has to do with my emotions that I have endured, I am currently trying to sort out the paperwork that will qualify that what belongs to Sifiso belongs to me.”She also pointed out that the past week she has been talking to her marital family and I had lost so much weight over time because of how she was emotionally prisoned. She believed that making the nation know will make her heal.
“I want to expose how he left me in debt. I built the rental flats and house he was staying in from my pocket and I will prove that.”“I wouldn’t want to talk about the cash that I used to give him because I can’t prove it ,but I want to talk about the abuse that I got from Sifiso, the lack of love from my in-laws plus the sabotage of my business by my late husband. For instance, Since the deceased had no salary, he made me buy furniture from furniture shops which he eventually stopped paying hence my credit life has been ruined. I still get emails from lawyers demanding payment because the stuff is in my name – banks too.”
“I was not a bad wife, I was not a bad business woman as I worked really hard while he was enjoying my money with his friends at my pub. I am still struggling with the abuse and I still believe I need therapy. I slept with him in the same bed knowing very well that I was so scared of him.”Lesodi went on to admit that she thought that she was over his late husband yet she wasn’t, hence she was not able to move on for the past five years. But she claimed that something has been lifted of her shoulders as she was finally free from the alleged evil, he had done to her and will be free to love again once the pain is gone.
“I am sure that Sifiso tried to get married after I left but all he did was null and void because he was not following the right procedure”One of the six arrested suspects Liyanda Mlamuli Mhlanga (26) of Gundvwini was surrendered to the police in Manzini and was slapped with four charges. He appeared before Manzini Senior Magistrate Sindisile Zwane. According to the charge sheet, in the first count, the accused is facing a murder charge in that on January 23, 2024, while he was at Malkerns Research in the Manzini Region, he and his accomplices allegedly killed the 42-year-old businessman by stabbing him with a knife.
The flats, bike and house belong to me – Wife!
MBABANE – The wife to the deceased Matsapha businessman has claimed that the motorbike that was used by her husband, the house and flats belong to her.The house and flats are situated at Bethany.According to South African registration papers for the Suzuki Motor bike, the latter belonged to Lebohang Clayton. The wife was previously married to Clayton husband.
“I borrowed him the bike and it was at his place, so when we broke up because he hit me, I asked him to give it back, and he threatened me and I ended up submitting the papers to him and that was how he managed to change its ownership. By that time, I had already fled Swaziland because I was in danger. Everything was done under duress”She went to explain that apart from the money that she sourced from the Pub n Grill, she also took a loan to finance the building of the flats which she claims belong to her by extension.
Lesotho Chief writes to Eswatini
MBABANE –As means to confirm knowledge of the marriage and also to offer assistance – a Lesotho chief for the Ha- Thamae area has written a letter to local authorities.Following the fact that the deceased’s wife could not be part of the funeral nor was able to mourn her husband, the chief has urged local umphakatsi to assist the widow carry out these customary activities.
“I as the chief of Ha- Thamae,I write this letter to inform you that I know Lebohang Marry Lesoli as a citizen of Lesotho. She was married at your country on June 19,2015 to the Simelane family.20 cattle were paid. I urge that you take the Lesotho delegation to the Simelane family for bereavement. Also kindly take them to the grave side so she mourns her late husband.”Information gathered by our publication was that the widow was allowed to go to the graveyard the past week and also met the Simelanes.
We paid lobola – Sister-in-law
MBABANE –Precious Simelane, the wife’s sister-in-law has confidently stated that she participated when her brother paid lobola for Lebo Lesoli in Lesotho.Simelane explained that Lebo was the remaining version of their deceased brother and they were very much close with the deceased hence the latter communicated everything that took place between him and his wife.
“I know a lot of things that happened between them and I can confidently say that Lebo replaced our father in terms of financial ability or support. Most of the time she supported Sifiso financially. Since I was based in Joburg and could speak Sesotho, she would phone me to ask about the Swazi traditions and Customs based on instruction she got from her husband. Such instruction included that my sister-in-law should pay a fine for buying something without consulting her husband.”She also outlined that Lesoli was manipulated and forced to do a lot of things out of her will.Alot of things were stolen from her in the name of love and I pray that she gets the justice she deserves.“I feel I’m caught in between because I have a father who was abused in a relationship and also a sister-in-law who was also abused in a relationship. So sometimes life can be unfair because you can’t say it is men or women that abuse the other.”
The deceased grew up with anger after experiencing how his father was abused and he always said that he will never allow a woman to do what happened to his father.
Why is our father treated like he never existed? – daughter
MBABANE – A sister to the deceased, wonders why in all the ongoing saga, their father is not appreciated – Injustice started a very long time.She highlighted that she was born outside the wedlock but have stayed with her family for a very long time which is why she was equipped with a lot of information.
She alleges that her younger brother, Mpendulo Simelane had been helpful but she felt she might be compromised with the truth due to the fact that some dishonesty started from their late mother (her step mother)She also stated that Ntombifuthi Simelane was now the older sister because the originally older one is late.“My father died ten years ago and he was a humble man in terms of how he led his life Moreso because he always put his family first before everything else. That is why he made it look like all the success belonged to his wife. That is why people think so.”She went on to explain that her step mother worked at furniture shop before she became a tailor.
“She was made by our father.”She added that their father worked at Coca Cola and in Big bend and he always wanted to be a business person hence when he got his package he started the transport business which included a fleet of buses and trucks.
He then bought industrial machines for his wife hence why they opened a uniform shop which supplied schools. He then also opened a block yard.“That was when our father pushed our mom to the warehouses whereby our mom had 50% plus one Zonke Magagula. Later our father joined. Then they got money from bank whereby the loan’s security were the warehouses. The loan was for the building of the hotel. Just when the construction of the hotel started, death struck – our father passed on.
She narrated that at the time she was working at Fashion International and got jobs for trucking opportunities because she was in Management. As a result, she could recommend her father for the logistics tenders.“My late father had property like flats for rental which unfortunately have been sold and we were left out in terms of benefitting.”On the Flipside she says they want to assist their brother as there is a possibility that his family might see him as a sell out yet he was trying to put things in order for his family.
“The main challenge is that Mpendulo was overseas and our step mom did a lot of things with our late brother whereby they did everything they could just to make sure that we don’t benefit since we were born out of wedlock. Our sister Lungile was introduced to the family last year yet they knew her.”“We have always wanted the media to help us because we didn’t have the money to hire lawyers. Sfiso had all the money which made it impossible to challenge him. With the media on our side, we wanted the relevant stakeholders like the Masters office to take interest on the matter once it has been exposed.
“We are actually expecting the Master’s Office to engaged us when Sfisos file is finalized.“The allegation that the deceased forged documents is true but let us go back. Our father had 50 shares which are now wrongfully held by Futhi.Our mother fraudulently resigned our father from the shareholding hence why Sifiso also did it due to such motivation.
“The bad blood comes from the fact that our mother claimed to have been in a meeting with my father while at hospital, yet ironically, what we then discovered was that our mother was actually in ICU and there was no way the doctors could have allowed it to happen. That’s how the foul play was discovered.”She was then asked if she did this interview with the aim to force a way to benefit from the estate or not.“It is our birthright to benefit and there has been no assistance from the family but fortunately life has not really been hard, thanks to the almighty. What we regret is that, our brother continues with the trend of takng decisions on our behalf without consulting with us. These taking a lawyer and private investigator. They also get salaries and other benefits which still today we are excluded yet we have engaged yet we are all shareholders based on the obvious truth.
‘Extreme love for money caused his death’
MBABANE – It is alleged that the late businessmen’s love for money made him succumb to death. “I have experienced before hence why I can put my head on the block that my brother didn’t want anything that would oppose the way he thought. At some point he told me off for suggesting otherwise. He had a great appetite for money and I believe that he got to a point where he felt he can’t be anything in the society without money.”
She also pointed out that she was pained at the fact that she couldn’t grieve him because when he passed on they were still at logger heads.“I miss him as we speak because he was the brother that made you feel safe not because he abused people but because provided us with some sort of physical security.”
Furthermore,friends close to the deceased believe that the suspects had a clear intention was to kill him not rob him.”
These allegations were shared by the late Matsapha businessman, Sifiso Simelane’s friends, during his funeral held at Mahlanya, under Lobamba Lomdzala Inkhundla yesterday. Simelane, a businessman of Bethany, who is survived by his four children, was robbed by unknown people before they slit his throat and dumped him in a forest at Mahlanya. Close to a thousand mourners came to pay their last respects as the late businessman was laid in his final resting place at is parental home grave yard at around 07:40am. This followed a short prayer held at Dups Funeral Home in Manzini. Among the mourners were Simelane’s friends who are bikers. They shared their versions on how they viewed the incident. According to his friends, the manner in which the late businessman was murdered was allegedly an indication that the mission was to kill him and not to rob him.
They alleged that the robbery was a ploy adopted by the suspects to hide the fact that they were there to kill him. One of his friends alleged that the gruesome murder was an assassination, based on the fact that the suspects were in constant communication with Simelane for about a week. He said he was convinced that the murder was premeditated. “Based on the article published by the Times of Eswatini, some of the people who called him on the fateful day had been calling him for about a week, it is clear then that this had been planned for some time,” he said. Another friend mentioned that they suspected that some of the suspects were not from the country, as one of them was alleged to have been speaking Zulu.
Yet another of the late businessman’s friends alleged that the method in which the murder was committed by slitting his throat, was meant to send a clear message as he believed there were other means that could have been used by the suspects to commit the murder. “There are many means that the suspects could have used to kill him but slitting his throat was a clear message that this was intentional,” he said. It was also mentioned during the discussions that it was unlike the late businessman to address people he did not know, let alone at night, which was proof that he was familiar with the suspects as they had been in contact for some time.
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