Unfolding

Chapter 15

Nkanyiso has been handling Ingo's divorce, she finally agreed to move forward with it after begging Sabelo to rethink his decision. Her parents were relieved when she told them she was giving Sabelo the divorce he wanted, she had nothing to lose anyway, this was after Nkanyiso told her how much she was going to gain from this divorce. This was an exciting case for Nkanyiso, he gave it his best and he knew he was going to win it fair and square. He and the other lawyer have been gathering as much information as they could to prove that she did not commit the crime, they had Siphokazi as their alibi and witness, and Londi as a witness character, they did not have any other choice but to ask her against Ingo's will and Londi agreed to help. Nkanyiso asked Mabutho to erase call records that Ingo made after the crime, placing her at the hotel for more than 30 minutes, she didn't know Nkanyiso knew that as she lied to them about the timeframe of her being there. She appeared better than the last time, it was the first day of her trial and her lawyers were confident with the information they had. The prosecution was going to give their opening statement and present their first witness. This was a public case; the journalists were allowed inside the courtroom and other organizations and everyone who wanted to attend.

Ingo combed her big afro, and wore her black suit and heels, she appeared confident, with a few kilograms lost, she still has a nice body and a beautiful face. Her parents were proud to see how she handled herself, better than the last time she was here. The courtroom was overcrowded, some had to stand outside. Some had boards written "EYE FOR AN EYE!" and she sat on the same spot as last time. Once the judge was present, the prosecutor read their opening statement, clearly indicating that they strongly believed that Ingo-Musa killed Zinhle Mkhize, gave all the evidence that placed her at the crime scene and the motive, by the time he finished, Ingo felt like she was being attacked. Her lawyer stood up and gave their side of the story, clearly stating that Ingo-Musa did not commit the crime, he then brought his own evidence, he did not want to say a lot yet, and he wanted to know what more the state had against their client. This was the toughest time of her life, she had to compose herself and say nothing even if someone lied about her name. The state brought in their first witness, the receptionist.

"Young lady I have one question for you, do you see the lady that came in the early hours of May 26th to your front desk?", he asked and the lady pointed towards Ingo, people started mumbling, "No further questions, your Honour ", Ingo's lawyer stood up, "Ma'am, if you remember correctly, what time exactly did she come in?", he asked, "I did not check the time, but it was after 1 am", she said, "Thank you, no further questions. Your Honour, the autopsy indicated that Zinhle was murdered roughly 45 minutes before this young lady was approached. It is not confirmed that the lady in the CCTV footage made it to room 509, she could have booked a room because there's no evidence showing that she came out of the hotel", her lawyer argued. "A shoe print was found on the scene, and it matched Ingo's running shoe, and we found Zinhle's blood underneath her running shoe", the prosecutor said, the crowd exclaimed. "She might not have killed Zinhle herself, maybe she came to check if the job was done right after she was murdered. We are talking about a woman who was going to give her husband a child, something she failed to do", it was getting hot for Ingo, she wanted to unbutton her suit but knew it was going to be taken as a reaction, so she sat still. "Zinhle was not going to be the first woman to give Sabelo a child, Siphokazi has two kids with him, she is leaving under the same roof as Ingo and she is still alive, in fact, Ingo is helping take care of the kids. Now if she loves kids so much, why would she kill a pregnant woman? She didn't know about her until she was dead, her husband was secretly cheating on her, she is the victim here"., her lawyer stated before they all took a break. She was suffocating and wanted to catch fresh air, but her lawyers suggested she doesn't move because the journalist would prey on her, so she remained seated and saw Sabelo dressed nicely on the other side, she knew he was going to take the stand today.