More than a year ago, the raging community of Zandspruit, northwest of Johannesburg, joined a door-to-door hunt for men accused of being responsible for the high crime rate in the area.
Yesterday, only 14 people sat in the dock with no sight of their relatives or community members to support them as they faced the music for killing eight of the nine men they had allegedly sjamboked and set alight in May 2021.
The survivor was only sjamboked.
In the gallery in the high court sitting in the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court in Katlehong, on the East Rand, sat correctional services officials, members of the media and police officers wearing helmets and carrying rifles.
The group is accused of being part of a mob of more than 200 people who allegedly went searching for a group of young men on May 19 2021, accusing them of terrorising the community.
Yesterday's court sitting heard graphic testimony of how one of the eight men who died, Johannes “Shimmy” Moyo, was dragged out of his house at night by the mob to a nearby soccer field where they tied his hands behind his back, beat him with knobkerries and whipped him with sjamboks before setting him alight the next morning.
His girlfriend Rose Mabusela, 21, wept as she gave evidence.
Mabusela is the fourth state witness.
The other deceased are Vusi Seapi, Mwezi Magidla, Kenneth Mpfumadi, Nthando Ndlovu, Lucky Shabalala, Irvin Malley and Blessed Moyo.
Mabusela said on the night Moyo was attacked, she was at his place and he was sleeping.
“A lot of men came inside the house along with Kenny [Mpfumadi] and Black [Ndlovu]. Kenny took his house key and left with the group. Shimmy went back to sleep. I then heard whistles blowing outside and asked Shimmy if he heard the noise.
“He said he is going to sleep and has done nothing wrong. Many people came and pushed the door open. They turned the whole place upside down saying they are looking for a firearm,” she said.
Mabusela said the group took Moyo out of the house and started assaulting him.
“They tied his hands with a plastic rope and started beating him with sticks, knobkerries and sjamboks. They later took him to the house of a sangoma where they poured water over him and continued to whip him. It was just before midnight and I could not clearly see the people who were beating him,” said Mabusela.
She said the victims were taken to the field at about 6am.
“When I got to the field, I went to a friend of mine. He told me Shimmy has died.
“I looked at the bodies on the ground and I could not identify Shimmy. I could still see there were people who were still moving. Some people were carrying tyres and I left because I was still too young to witness people being burned.”
According to the indictment, the accused broke into the homes of the victims on the night of May 18 2021 and tied their hands and feet with shoe laces and wire while questioning them about the whereabouts of firearms.
The accused then took the victims to the house of one of the accused where they continued to assault and interrogate them until early the next morning.
The victims were then taken to a soccer ground in the area where car tyres were placed around their necks and paraffin poured over them before being set alight.
The accused are Tebogo Mabula, 43, Mziwamangwane Witbooi, 42, Njabulo Zwane, 27, Phakiswa Tsengiswa, 36, Maxwell Mpofu, 27, Klaas Masemola, 44, Joshua Mabodze, 39, Alfred Mollo, 38, Everyone Moyo, 30, Phillimon Seemela, 36, Douglas Tshuma, 59, Charles Ramashla, 32 Phiwe Khubeka, 32, and Peter Mufamadi, 47.
They are facing eight counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of housebreaking with intent to commit kidnapping and murder, 10 counts of kidnapping and a charge of theft.
The accused pleaded not guilty to all charges.
kokam@sowetan.co.za
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