The man dubbed Mamelodi’s “Number 1 Tsotsi”, Vusi "Khekhe" Mathibela, says the state has no evidence linking him to the murder of North West businessman Wandile Bozwana and wants to be acquitted from all charges.
This came out during closing arguments in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday where Mathibela stands accused of the 2015 murder of Bozwana and attempted murder of his business partner Mpho Baloyi.
Mathibela’s lawyer Adv Gerhard Botha told the court that there was no evidence that linked his client to Bozwana’s murder, save for circumstantial evidence that was based on confession statements made by his co-accused.
Mathibela, along with Sipho Hudla, Matamela Robert Mutapa and Bonginkosi Paul Khumalo appeared in court and all pleaded for charges against them to be withdrawn.
Botha told the court that the state’s case against Mathibela was a “scandalous” and “unsatisfactory” attempt to link him to the murder.
“There was not one single shred of evidence against accused 3 (Mathibela) at the time of his arrest. There was only confessions (made by his co-accused) and a pointing out. The state solely arrested the accused in hopes of him getting implicated during the course of the trial,” Botha told the court.
He argued that Mathibela could not be connected with his three co-accused as he was not seen in the video footage in which they were captured with Bozwana in Sandton City before his killing.
Botha further argued that the state’s attempt to link Mathibela to his co-accused through cell phone data was feeble as no proof could be provided that Mathibela contacted any of them on the day of Bozwana’s murder.
“Accused 3 (Mathibela) should be acquitted because it is clear that the state initiated a prosecution with the hope of finding something that would connect him to the charges he faces,” Botha said.
Lawyers representing Mathibela’s co-accused pleaded with the court to revoke the confession statements that their clients made because the state failed to prove evidence that was contained in them.
Adv Johannes Marais, who represented Hudla, told the court that none of the facts contained in his client’s statement could be proven beyond reasonable doubt. He said Hudla’s statement contradicted the evidence presented by the state.
“The confession statement can never be a true version of events. It's time for the court to reassess the admissibility of the statement because no reliance can be placed on the statement and my client should be discharged from this matter,” Marais said.
Annelene van den Heerver told the court that the state’s case against Mutapa was also weak and circumstantial at best. “There is no eyewitness that gave evidence which placed accused 2 (Mutapa) at the scene of the crime.
"The court should not have regard to the entirety of the confession statement. It should only look at what accused 2 confessed to against the charges he faces and it will see that there is no material evidence (linking him) to the offence,” she said.
However, prosecutor Adv Jennifer Cronje told the court the accused’s attempt to be discharged was baseless as the state presented a watertight case.
“The state presented evidence of numerous witnesses. Two trials within trials were held to determine the admissibility of CCTV footage and confessions respectively. The state’s case has now been closed and all the accused are bringing applications to be discharged,” she said.
Cronje argued that the court must consider all the evidence presented before it before discharging the accused.
Judge Papi Mosopa postponed the matter for May 21 when he is expected to deliver a judgment.
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