The Gqeberha woman who allegedly hatched an elaborate plan to kill her ex-husband, will spend Christmas at home with her family, pending her trial.
Nothukela "Ethel" Noqekwa, 47, who has been charged with the murder of the late doctor Bantu Noqekwa, 56, was refused bail in the New Brighton Magistrate's Court in July.
She then appealed with the Gqeberha High Court, who on Tuesday overturned the Magistrate's decision.
Her successful appeal secured her release on bail of R 5 000 from the North End Prison.
According to the judgment, Ethel is prohibited from interfering with state witnesses and she is to attend court until the matter is finalised.
The judgment regarding her bail conditions makes no mention of her having to report to a police station, nor that she is prohibited from leaving the city.
When Ethel was refused bail in the New Brighton Magistrate's Court, Magistrate Mphuthumi Mpofu said she was considered a flight risk.
He found that there was a chance that she could influence state witnesses, and added that there were no exceptional circumstances that permitted her release on bail.
Ethel was arrested in Cape Town where her eldest son resides.
In her judgment, Acting Judge Ncumisa Dyantyi-Njokwana said the magistrate had fallen into a trap of getting into the merits of the case, and added that certain issues were to be determined by a trial court.
Dyantyi-Njokwana said there is merit in Ethel's contention that the court has found her guilty.
"In this case, it is common cause that the appellant availed herself to be interviewed by the police on more than one occasion before the police decided that they would arrest her for the murder of the deceased.
"The police did not warn her not to leave Gqeberha without informing them. The police only took three days to trace the whereabouts of the appellant."
The High Court judgment further makes mention that Ethel does not have a passport or any assets outside of South Africa.
"In my view, the court had incorrectly concluded that she is a flight risk," said Dyantyi-Njokwana in her judgment.
Ethel's co-accused, Siyabulela Gcayiya, Andile Jongi, and Athule Mtyobile abandoned their bids for bail.
During the original bail application, Sergeant Sibulelo Yali testified that Ethel had allegedly promised hitmen that they would be compensated with half a million rand once the job was done.
She is said to have arranged the murder since 2021 via a middleman, who has since turned state witness.
The court heard that her son was let in on the murder plot as he was the executor of the deceased's estate, which meant he would have to release the hitmen's compensation.
The couple's firstborn was allegedly in agreement with his mother.
Yali also said the state had a strong case against the accused.
Dyantyi-Njokwana found that there was no evidence placed before the court that Ethel attempted to influence her son (who is a state witness).
She further said the strength of the state's cases and the probability of a conviction, although it is an important consideration, "does not displace the central issue which the court is required to decide, that is whether or not the exceptional circumstances exist which in the interest of justice permit the release on bail of the appellant.
"The judgment by the magistrate shows that the court a quo did not pay any regard to the appellant's evidence.
"The least that the magistrate says about her evidence is that her case hinges on her life revolving within the boundaries of South Africa and that she wants to be out there to make life possible for her and her children whom she regards herself as a primary caregiver."
Dr Bantu Noqekwa was shot execution-style at his surgery in Zwide, in May.
His cousin, Eado Suka, on Tuesday, expressed the family's disappointment at the verdict.
Suka said Ethel did not deserve to be out among members of the community and slammed the bail amount that had been set.
Ethel's co-accused in the matter are: Andile Jongi, Siyabulela Gcayiya, Athule Mtyobile and Mphumzi Ndzimela.
