Suspects launch onslaught on witnesses

GALE NGAKANE
Correspondence | Thursday October 25, 2007 00:00

Magistrate Thato Mujaji sat passively as the witnesses reeled under the onslaught from the suspects - Olebogeng Ontuetse, Dodo Dube and the gap-toothed Albert Chabulula.

The trio bamboozled the investigating officer, a sub-inspector Boikanyo and one of the alleged victims of the robbery Dorothy Mbizyo. The first to go in action was Ontuetse. He faulted Boikanyo for failure to take pictures at a scene of crime and make notes. The prosecutor had trouble with remembering names of the victims of crimes, their home addresses or the dates on which the crimes were committed and when the suspects were arrested.

Chabulula seemed to have presented him with a conundrum when he asked him about his (Chabulula's) names.

'I do not know whether you are Strike or France or Chabuluza. The other names are Albert Chabuluza.'

Towards the end, when it appeared the questions were too hot to handle, Boikanyo sought help from magistrate Mujaji but in vain. 'Your worship, I only met with the prosecutor today. I was from home. I did not have enough time to prepare for this case,' he said. When heard this, he replied that: 'Why is it possible that you can stand before this honourable court and say I broke into a house when you know nothing'.

When Mbizyo appeared in the witnesss stand, it took Ontuetse a short time to make her break down. At one point her voice broke and she continuously sniffled, either because she was reliving the night they were attacked, or due to the incessant probing by Ontuetse. He took the witness to task over her claims that she identified him as one of the people who broke into her house to commit a robbery. Surprisingly, Dube and Chabulula could only ask Mbizyo whether she knew them before they sat down. But Ontuetse gave her torrid time wanting to know how she identified him. 'Since you say the person who attacked you was dark and short, did you record that?' he asked her.

Mbizyo, who at this time was sniffling, said she did not. The case continues on November 19 when the state will call four more witnesses. The suspects are alleged to have broken into a house and robbed Mbizyo of items valued at P4,835. They allegedly broke into another house belonging to Emile van Zyl. The third count says they stole property valued at P7,900 after burgling the home of John Thomas Gibson in Monarch. They also allegedly assaulted Gibson with an iron rod. The fourth accused, Zwenyu Wilson was not in court after the police said he tried to give them the slip.