Rustenburg - A man accused of petrol bombing a house in Tlhabane and killing three members of the same family, was never near the area, the North West High Court heard on Thursday.
Nicholas Molefe Ntsimane, 38, told the North West High Court sitting in Rustenburg, that he was in Tlokweng on the weekend of May 16, 2015. Tlokweng is more than 200 kilometres away from Tlhabane.
“I slept over in Tlokweng. In the morning I received four callbacks from my girlfriend Mmapula Tshabalala who was in Tlaseng. When I called her back, she told me the Segopa family house was torched in Tlhabane,” he told the court.
He said he went to Tlhabane and passed near the house and saw it was completely burnt down and that there was police tape cordoning off the house. He also did not notice anyone at the house.
Ntsimane is standing trial on 14 charges ranging from murder, attempted murder, robbery, culpable homicide, arson, armed robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms and live ammunition.
The State alleges that he petrol bombed a house in Bester, Tlhabane, on May 16 last year killing Kealeboga Segopa, 30, her daughter Kaboyaona, who was eight months old, and her mother, Mmapula, 55. They died on arrival at a local hospital of smoke inhalation.
Ntsimane is a close relative to the family. He has pleaded not guilty to all 14 charges against him.
Ntsimane was arrested on May 29, 2015, on an armed robbery and hijacking case in which he allegedly robbed an off-duty police officer of his service pistol and drove off with the officer’s car in Tlhabane on December 15, 2014.
He was arrested at the correctional service parole office in Rustenburg, where he was going to sign in as part of his parole conditions. He was found in possession of a firearm and eight rounds of live ammunition.
The trial continues on Friday.
African News Agency