Eyewitness' testimony convicts murderer
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday November 6, 2023 06:00
Machacha allegedly stabbed his then live-in girlfriend with a sharp object on the abdomen and other body parts on December 15, 2019. Fourteen years later she succumbed to the injuries she sustained from the stabbing on January 16, 2020 at the Nyangabwe Referral Hospital in Francistown. When passing judgement, Justice Lot Moroka of the Francistown High Court said the evidence led in court shows that Machacha and Onthusitse were lovers and they stayed together at Onthusitse’s place of residence. “The deceased was employed and she went to work in the morning and returned in the evening. During that fateful day, the deceased came back from work and she proceeded to bath her children inside the room that she shared with the accused. Between 8 and 9pm, one Tshimologo Fourteen who was also living in the same compound with the accused and deceased, said while she was sleeping outside her house within the yard, she heard someone inside the accused and deceased’s room screaming as if he or she was being muzzled.
Tshimologo also testified that shortly after she heard someone screaming, Onthusitse came out of her room by forcefully opening the door and it came off with its hinges. Tshimologo also stated that shortly after Onthusitse came out of her room, she saw Machacha chasing her (Onthusitse) and Onthusitse fell to the ground,” said Justice Moroka. The judge added that after Onthusitse fell down, Tshimologo also testified that she saw Machacha stabbing her (Onthusitse) with a sharp object several times before he escaped. Tshimologo, Justice Moroka went on, also testified that after Machacha escaped, she went to one of her neighbours to ask for transport to take Onthusitse to the clinic. “There is no suggestion that Tshimologo could lie or not be trusted. Her testimony is intact and has not been controverted. The defence said that no one saw Machacha stabbing the deceased inside the room.
The defence has raised a defence of alibi and I hereby reject it. I find that the accused is the one who inflicted injuries that led to the death of the deceased. The accused said that he was at the cattle post when the deceased died but he only went to the Gweta Police Station after he heard that he was wanted in relation to the deceased’s death. Tshimologo, who stayed with the accused in the same yard, said that she saw the accused stabbing the deceased with a sharp object. Her testimony is intact. The defence sought to attribute the death of the deceased to something else other than stab wounds.
The defence said that the deceased died because of pneumonia. The doctor said that the deceased ended up being infected with pneumonia because of the build up of puss in her lungs as a result of the stab wounds that the accused inflicted on the deceased. The deceased died because of the conduct of the deceased which conduct was unlawful. From the aforesaid, I find that the prosecution has proved its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt and I find him guilty of murder,” said Moroka. The next phase of trial, Justice Moroka explained, is to find out if there are extenuating circumstances that may convince the court to pass any sentence other than the death penalty. Machacha is due in court on December 5, 2023 for extenuation.