I did not note any injuries on Sithole- Magistrate
Larona Makhaiza | Friday May 22, 2026 15:13
Testifying before court on Thursday in the trial-within-a-trial in the murder case of young Tlotso Karema, Magistrate Gofaone Morweng told the court that Sithole voluntarily gave his statement in Setswana. “The accused's outright choice of language was Setswana, he never asked for any other language,” Morweng said. The Magistrate added that he did not observe any visible injuries on the accused when recording his confession statement despite Sithole maintaining that he was tortured.
Morweng explained that the court interpreter, Mpho Raboditsheko, translated every detail to the accused in Setswana while simultaneously recording the responses in the vernacular. “She was translating in Setswana in every detail and she had a duplicate form in which she was recording the responses in vernacular as she was interpreting the questions to the accused Sithole,” he testified. Morweng further told the court that the confession was made freely and without interruption. “It was a spontaneous narration from Sithole and was not interrupted,” he said. “After I reduced this statement in ink, I read the version in ink and Raboditsheko translated the statement to the accused and he agreed to the confession statement which I believe they were in accordance.” According to Morweng, Sithole later signed the statement after it had been read back to him. “After reading the statement back to him, he then recorded his name on the statement and attached his signature and I attached mine also,” he said.
The magistrate maintained that he believed the statement was voluntary. “As I had earlier stated, the statement was spontaneous. I had no doubt that it was an involuntary statement made to me as a judicial officer,” he testified. Morweng also confirmed that the typed Setswana and English versions of the confession statement would be admitted as evidence during the trial-within-a-trial. During cross-examination, the defence attorney Keorapetse Sambere for Sithole questioned Morweng on whether he had observed any injuries on the accused at the time. “That is correct, I didn't notice any form of injuries,” Morweng responded. The defence pointed out that there was no section in the form requiring him to specifically record his observations. “That is correct however when an inquiry is made to the accused as to whether sustained injuries or not, if there are any I would have noted them as per the tailored form at page 4,” Morweng said.
When further pressed that the form only reflected the accused’s responses and not the magistrate’s own observations, Morweng replied: “The response from the accused would not exclude noting injuries if there were apparent injuries. If he had said yes we would have recorded them.” The defence also questioned whether signs of torture through suffocation with a plastic bag could have escaped his attention. “I would not know how injuries would pronounce themselves if someone was covered with a plastic bag and tortured,” Morweng admitted. Asked about Sithole’s emotional condition during their interaction, Morweng described him as calm. “From my recollection I would say he was calm in my chambers supported by his comfort as it allowed him to ask me to avail him a mask. I did not read any misery from his demeanor,” he said. Morweng also confirmed that Sithole never informed him that he had been assaulted or tortured by investigating officers. The matter continues before Justice Matlhogonolo Phuthego at the High Court's branch, Broadhurst Magistrate's Court.