Ex-wife of slain Bay doctor denied bail

The Gqeberha businesswoman accused of masterminding the murder of her ex-husband, Dr Bantu Noqekwa, was denied bail in the New Brighton magistrate’s court on Tuesday.

Ethel Mphahlwa-Noqekwa, 46, is accused of hiring a group of hitmen to murder the father of her three kids.

The 56-year-old general practitioner was gunned down at his surgery in Zwide on May 3.

In his verdict, magistrate Mphuthumi Mpofu said Noqekwa's death was tantamount to an earthquake as it "shook the pillars of the province as a whole".

Mphahlwa-Noqekwa's co-accused Siyabulela Gcayiya and Andile Jongi previously abandoned their bids for bail.

Another suspect has since turned state-witness while two new accused were arrested last week, one of whom appeared in court on Monday.

Mphahlwa-Noqekwa will join all the other accused in the dock on August 17.

This is a developing story.

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