Polokwane – The atmosphere in the Polokwane High Court was tense on Friday, February 6, 2026, as Skeem Saam actress Amanda Manku took the witness stand as a state witness in the murder trial of her father, William Manku, and his co-accused. Her testimony, filled with painful detail and emotional restraint, recounted the events surrounding the deaths of her mother and grandmother, leaving the courtroom silent.
Under examination by the state, Amanda confirmed her identity and relationship to the accused and the deceased, stating, “I’m 34…accused number 1 is my father and the two deceased were your mother and grandmother.” She described her relationship with her father before her mother’s death as generally good, but increasingly strained.
“Before my mother passed away, my father and I were fine…though he had become distant from me and I didn’t understand why,” she testified.
The court heard that her parents’ marriage had deteriorated years before the murders due to her father's extramarital affair. Amanda explained how her mother discovered the affair through phone records and later WhatsApp messages when her father was hospitalized and unconscious. “The first time she didn’t take the news well and ended up trying to end her life,” Amanda told the court. She further testified that her mother had decided to end the marriage shortly before her death, intending to file for divorce and seek maintenance but was unable to do so after discovering that her marriage certificate was missing.
The court also heard that Manku moved out of the family home in March 2021 before the mother was murdered. Despite moving out, her father continued to support the family financially and transport her siblings to school.
One of the most painful moments in her testimony came when Amanda recounted confronting her father after his arrest. “I asked my father if he was guilty and he responded saying that, ‘Well, I am here, am I not?’ I then asked him if he was involved in my parents' passing and he said: ‘I didn’t do it with my own hands'. I then asked him to give me a simple yes or no and then he said yes,” she said.
Amanda told the court how she reacted: “I then told him that from that day, he no longer has a daughter in me.”
During cross-examination, the defense questioned timelines and interpretations, suggesting that Amanda’s understanding may have been emotional. She stood firm, stating, “I love my father and I have no reason to lie about what he said.”
The defence maintained that Manku denies involvement and denies talking to Amanda about the murders, but the actress insisted her account was truthful and witnessed by others.
The matter has been postponed to 12 to 15 May 2026, with further proceedings scheduled for 19 to 22 May 2026.
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