Kebonang drills police on late CEO murder case
Sharon Mathala | Tuesday June 27, 2023 06:00
He said: “When you gain a friend, first test him and be not too ready to trust him. For one sort of friend is a friend when it suits him.” One could sense a sigh of relief from the family and friends of the late CEO, who had packed the courtroom to hear and witness the matter being put to rest.
Because the accused, David Modise and Montshiwa were friends, one would have deduced that the message from the judge’s reading was that the man would be found guilty. Mummers could be heard across the room as they harshly discussed the direction the judge was taking.
But the law was not on their side on the day, as Modise was 119 pages away from freedom. Critically, the State lost the matter, according to the judge, for its failure to follow basic procedures like keeping proper account of the chain of custody for the murder weapon. “The failure to properly account for the custody and movement of the rifle was inconsequential because no ill motive can be attributed to the police, is to have the presumption of regularity prevail over the stronger presumption of innocence enshrined in the Constitution.
In the instant case, there is affirmative evidence of irregularity for failure to perform a duty by the police themselves,” the judge said. He also said the State failed to call a key witness. He said that the State failed to call an eye witness who had told the police that he saw a person rushing off the yard and driving off after the gunshots. “The failure by the State to call the witness who saw a light in complexion person fleeing the scene of the crime raises, in my view, a natural inference that the State feared exposure of the fact that would be unfavourable to it,” Justice Kebonang said, adding that it would seem the State wanted to convict Modise at all costs and embarked on malicious prosecution. The judge also pointed out that during trial, the State had submitted inadmissible evidence and hearsay.
The judge also pointed out that the State failed to convince the court of the fact that the murder accused was last seen driving a black VW vehicle and why eyewitnesses say they saw a red VW racing off after the gunshots. In the end, Modise was discharged and acquitted. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of court, Modise maintains that he did not kill Montshiwa. “The fact that I am free now doesn’t change the fact that my friend is dead, that is something that has not been resolved. My life came to a standstill eight years ago when this case started and that too won’t change,” he said.