David's alibi 'unravels' in Montshiwa murder trial
Sharon Mathala | Tuesday March 14, 2023 06:00
David took the stand on Saturday to give his account of his relationship with the slain Fairgrounds CEO, Michael Montshiwa as well as give evidence of what happened on the day of the CEO’s murder.
During cross-examination, however, the State placed David on a timeline of a few minutes before Montshiwa was shot and after he was killed. Montshiwa was shot dead at his home at around 10:30pm.
According to the State, records from Mascom show that the accused and Montshiwa had spoken for 30 seconds at 10:22pm, eight minutes before the shooting.
The State argued that at 10:32pm David called Montshiwa's phone but it would be a missed call because the latter was already dead. David, the State said, in an attempt to create as much distance between him and the scene of the crime sent another message at 10:41pm telling Montshiwa he will see him tomorrow. It was further the State’s argument that call logs show that the pair's mutual friend, Kevin Mokotedi had called David the next morning after the shooting at around 5:59am to inform him of Montshiwa's death.
The State put it to David that during this call David told Mokotedi that he (David) would go to Montshiwa's home to "find out what was happening". The State further submitted that to their surprise another message from David to Montshiwa was sent at 6:11am, 12 minutes after Mokotedi informed him that Montshiwa had been killed.
In this message, David writes to Montshiwa that he was going to the office and that he would meet up with him later that day. The prosecution questioned David why he would send a dead man a message.
The State also believes the accused was trying to cover his tracks. For his part, David confirmed that indeed he spoke to Montshiwa at the time the State said he did. David, however, said his phone then switched off.
He added that when he got to a charger, he texted Montshiwa to let him know he will see him tomorrow. At this point, he said, he was unaware that Montshiwa was dead. “I had been drinking that day and I did not want to meet my client in that state. I categorically remember that in the morning I sent the message before receiving a call from Kevin (Mokotedi). You see the phone records are from Montshiwa’s phone, I can’t speak for delays in the transmissions of messages and when they were delivered.
I can only speak to when I sent him the text and it was before the call,” David explained.
The State also poked holes at David's intention of buying a firearm to which David said that he did not buy it to kill Montshiwa, but instead had the desire to purchase a gun for self-defence.
The State further suggested to David that he is pinning the gun on his late friend and business associate, Abonakwe Kgwarae in his evidence-in-chief because he knows very well dead men can't talk.
David responded: “No that is not what I am doing. The truth is I am not even sure if the firearm presented to the court is the one that I gave to Abo.” The State also attempted to show motive in David’s version of events concerning the transactions saying that they were false because there was no paper trail of all his claims.
The State claims a part of Montshiwa’s money went to David as he was broke and had no money in his business account and trust account. Asked how much he had and explain how he did invest in the illegal cigarette smuggling business, David said he cannot remember how much he invested on behalf of Montshiwa since there were many transactions depending on what was needed at the time.
David said because it was an illegal business, he made most payments through cash withdrawals hence why there is no paper trail of the transactions. Asked why in his initial statement to the police did not mention the involvement of Kgwarae in the illegal Zimbabwe cigarette deal and two other men, David said the police were specific as to what they wanted from him at the time of questioning him.
The case continues on May 5 for oral submissions.