After being locked up for almost five years for a murder she insists she did not commit, Philisiwe Dlamini was all smiles as she walked out of prison.
|||Durban - After being locked up for almost five years for a murder she insists she did not commit, Philisiwe Dlamini was all smiles as she walked out of Westville Prison on Monday.
The 42-year-old former teacher, who claims she was wrongfully convicted of murdering her husband, left the prison in style, in a luxury Chrysler 300 after a tearful family reunion.
“I’m beyond happy. At last God is on my side,” said Dlamini, who had claimed from the outset that her husband, Thamsanqa Gumede, had shot himself in January 2008.
Earlier last week, her legal counsel had presented a ballistics report that had not been revealed at her trial.
The report from the Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria shows that primer residue (used to determine who fired a gun) was found on her husband’s right hand while none was found on Dlamini’s hands.
Dlamini was granted bail of R10 000 by the Eshowe Regional Court on Friday and she must now await a high court trial date because she has been granted permission to present further evidence.
Flanked by her lawyer, Professor Lindokuhle Mdletshe, and Derrick Mdluli of the Justice for Prisoners and Detainees Trust, Dlamini was embraced by her daughter and nieces after being released on Monday.
“It was very difficult in there. Having to stay with people who taunt you for serving time in jail when you are innocent is not easy,” she said.
“Also knowing that my children were far away was hard.”
Dlamini said that before Mdletshe and Mdluli came to her aid, she had spent almost R100 000 on lawyers who had conned her.
“I have had about seven advocates who have failed me. I was even on a radio show once and a man who said he could help me asked for R5 000. We gave him R2 500 and we never heard from him again,” she said.
She said she was grateful to her daughter, Cebisile, 23, who had been her rock throughout her ordeal.
“She was 18 when I was arrested and had just registered at the University of Zululand. All that came to an end, but she continued to support me and would travel from Nkandla to come see me and allow me to share my anger with her.”
Cebisile had to assume the role of breadwinner and take care of her 95-year-old grandmother.
“Words cannot describe how I feel right now because life without a parent was very hard on us,” she said.
Although it will be tough for Dlamini to rebuild her life after having no income for years, Mdluli said he was happy for her.
Dlamini, who spent her time in prison teaching inmates mercantile law and maths, said she had no solid plans yet, but hoped to help other prisoners in a similar situation.
If Dlamini fails in her bid to have her conviction overturned, her bail will be revoked and she will have to return to jail.
Daily News