Moatlhodi has a case to answer � Magistrate
Lebogang Baingapi | Tuesday June 2, 2015 15:24
Moatlhodi was brought to court to answer to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving and failure to stop after the accident. Boitshoko Moatlhodi, 32, who is a civil engineer by profession, was also charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, but the charge has since been withdrawn.
During the previous mention, Moatlhodi’s attorney John Mosojane applied for a ‘no case to answer’ in respect of the two counts.
Mosojane said that there was no iota of evidence that the accused drove his car in a dangerous manner that ended up killing five-year-old Kevin Utlwang on April 21, 2012 at Block 7 along Kazungula road. The magistrate also said that the statements made by Oratile Phetogo and Leatile Ntsima were contradictory.
“Phetogo said the car was moving zigzag, while Ntsima said that the car was moving behind another car not in a dangerous manner. Phetogo’s evidence should not be relied upon because she said she did not understand the meaning of taking an oath,” he said.
Mosojane also said that Phetogo was also not admonished about the meaning of taking an oath and as such she is an incompetent witness who should not be relied upon.
Mosojane added that the road where the accident occurred had no road signs to warn motorists that there were pedestrians.
When delivering the ruling, Siziba said that he was satisfied with the evidence given by Phetogo and Ntsima, which he said were sufficient in law to establish a case against the accused. “Phetogo said that she saw the car moving zigzag, while Ntsima said that he saw the driver of the car taking something from the back seat of the car which made him lose concentration on the road. This shows that the accused was not driving properly and in my view the state has established a prima facie case against the accused,” he said.
After the ruling, Mosojane pleaded with the magistrate to set nearer continuation of trial dates because the matter is old since it was registered in 2012.
Siziba asked Mosojane if his client would be calling any witnesses to testify on his behalf to which Mosojane said that he would have to consult him to clarify if he has any witnesses or not. Thandi Poloko from Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is prosecuting. The trial will continue on June 15, 2015.
Meanwhile, Principal Magistrate Dumisani Basupi has postponed judgment in a case in which Atlholang Mojanki is alleged to have burnt a Toyota Corolla belonging to Letsweletse Matome at Mmei Junior School on April 20, 2012. Previously, Mojanki through his attorney Kabelo Gaonyadiwe made an application of no case to answer but the magistrate ruled that he has a case to answer.
The state further alleges that goods inside the car valued at more than P4,000 were destroyed after Mojanki burnt the car. The next mention is June 5, 2015.